Let’s hear it for the Soller Valley
Published in the Majorca Daily Bulletin
Tuesday 3rd February 2014
Photographs by RACHEL FOX
This week the news out of Soller has been great. I know that good news doesn’t sell but I’m delighted that all eyes were on Soller this week at Fitur – the International Tourism Fair held in Madrid . The Mayor of Soller and representatives of the local hotels were there alongside those representing the benefits of the UNESCO award to the Tramuntana. Soller has become the designated Cultural Centre of the Tramuntana and has a whole new part to play in the development of the UNESCO brand in Mallorca . This means that Soller is set to enjoy even more music and wonderful events this year and will play its part in the heart of things with great pride and pleasure.
The interesting weather of the week has given sea faring tales and high wind escapes. There was a night this week when everyone in Soller seemed to have a shutter that wasn’t locked. The wind got behind these shutters and some of them banged and crashed all night while the wind was howling. There were many who complained of having no sleep at all. As the day broke the wind stopped and the whole experience just seemed like a bad dream.
The day before the high winds all eyes were down on the new mountain path where the Hotel Rocamar used to live. The demolition was completed a few months ago and the steady work since then has transformed the area into the start of the mountain walks from the Repic end of the beach. No expense has been spared to create stone paths and walls and it is all looking fantastic. The areas around the paths have all been dug and rotivated and this week the plantings took place. Olive trees were the trees of choice and highly appropriate to the area and location. Only problem was that no-one seems to have taken any notice of the 100 km winds that were forecast. A few of the fledgling trees were whipped out of the ground and had to be gathered up the next day and planted again. This whole area will be worth a visit in a couple of months when the trees have bedded in and the paths come into use for this years walkers.
We all love the hotel statistics in this area, it is one of the benchmarks we judge ourselves on. The announcement this week that from February onwards 71% of all hotel bed space in the Soller Valley will be operational is just wonderful. February to November is the gold standard of hotel and restaurant opening around these parts. The Hotels and City council would love the area to be opened for a full year round experience but in Majorcan terms a ten month season places Soller as a destination to be proud of. Palma itself has many hotels which are open all year but I would say that Soller comes in second on the Island for the length of the season. No wonder Soller has its special title from UNESCO and an acknowledgment of all it is doing to be open all year for visitors.
We had two visits this week from the Cycling teams as they raced up and down our mountains. Friday saw us caught in the traffic jam waiting for the race to pass. We had a birds eye view of the cyclists and all the support vehicles racing down the mountain from Deya and then up the mountain towards Fornalutx. The speed that everything moves at is just amazing and in the blink of an eye they were all gone. These were the first races of the year but many more are planned for 2015. The establishment of Mallorca as a top cycling racing location is almost complete. Well done to all those instrumental in allowing this to happen. Cyclists love our great roads and hard man climbs not to mention some of the most outstanding scenery in the world – that is if they have time to look at it as they speed on their way.
We finished last week at an ‘end of term’ party for Bar Molino tucked away up the Lluna on the way towards Biniaraix. This slightly out of centre bar and restaurant has transformed itself in the last two years with new owners who were determined to create a community and not just another bar. To say that Iris and her team have done just that is an understatement. Bar Molino have remained open when everything else shut and are now closing for a months holiday as all the other bars are opening up for February. It was the place we celebrated New Years Eve and winter Friday nights when we didn’t want to cook. On Friday the music from Animacustica got the place rocking as all ages in this very local place celebrated along with Iris her well earned holiday. It is fascinating to watch new businesses come in and get the formula right – another well done to finish the week.
