The dawn chorus wakes us in Soller early these summer mornings. The sudden change in the weather and the departure of the North wind has been greeted with incredulity in the Soller Valley. One minute we’re moaning about the nights being cold for this time of year and then Africa sends us a message and redirects its weather to us. Balmy nights mean party time and hanging out on the beach or in Soller square. After coming to terms with the sudden weather change we realise we are ready for it to happen.
The first event of the weekend was an Argentian Asedo held in the playground of the Convent School. This was a community fund raising affair of high quality. The normal barbecues of burgers and sausages were a far cry from the offerings available on that night. We think we know about meat but then you attend an event like this and it is obvious that the South American countries know more about cooking meat in the open air than we do. This was a great night which ended with a bang as the fireworks hit the sky and then – silence. Everyone ambled home in the balmy night having had a great time for a good cause.
The Orange Festival continues for another week and Soller is bursting with people who are loving the day trip by train and tram with lunch included in the price. So many people have had the opportunity to try some of the Port of Soller, Fornalutx and Soller finest restaurants for a fraction of their normal cost on this trip. This Fiesta continues until the 15th June 2014 so there is still time to enjoy the work of our clever chefs. If you arrive in Soller under your own steam and not as part of the day trip you can book directly with one of the 17 participating restaurants and the price will be 23€ per head. If you choose the day trip option you make your decision about which restaurant you want at the time of buying the ticket.
We have had a number of people contacting us about the day trip asking what the ‘rules’ are. Lots of glossy advertising for the Orange Festival but nothing that explained where you bought the ticket or chose your restaurant. This and so many events seem to assume that people know what to do without giving basic information. We had one beautiful poster last week which gave no times for the sports event it was promoting. This took three emails and two phone calls before anyone was able to tell me the times so we could put it on the Events Calendar of www.sollerweb.com. We got there in the end but it sometimes seems like you are wading in a minefield of treacle.
The beach at the Port of Soller is very beautiful these days. The new sand in front of the Esplendido Hotel seems to have stuck at at last and the complaints about it being washed away have died away. The pedalos and canoes that have been a feature of beach life as long as I can remember have been joined this year by ‘Paddle Surfing’. I know that this is a big feature of beaches on the other side of the Island but sometimes Soller takes a little time to catch up.
The Friday night Barbecues on the Repic Beach are now back ready to be our regular haunt again. The Es Reco team offer a fish or meat barbecue for 18 € a head and it is all so easy. To have the vast beach in front of you mean that its an ideal spot for families to have the combination of a beach chill out restaurant and a playground for the children. The living is easy and the simple choices that go with beach life assures us of another great summer.
The politicians in suits arrived in Soller last week and met representatives of the Hotel Federation. They talked of the eyesore that is the Rocamar Hotel and of the impasse that has been arrived at over the building of the new Health Centre in the Port. The word from the meeting was that it’s all going to be alright in the end. The Hotel will be demolished one day and the health centre that should be complete in eight weeks will probably be a little delayed. This sits well with another announcement regarding St James Street in Soller. This street has been the subject of planning decisions for the past 60 years. It needs lengthening and widening and affects 24 built properties and this is not easy. However this week it has been announced that all plans have been passed and money allocated. The tendering process for the work is due to start and they anticipate that the work will be complete by 2015.
On that fanciful note I take my leave of you for another week to enjoy the easy living of the Soller Valley
