Life in Soller: An idyllic September spell

The sting has gone out of the heat and sleeping is much easier. | NILA GARCÍAS

Shirley RobertsSoller29/09/2023 14:07

A busy weekend of a Habaneras music Festival on the beach has given way to an idyllic September spell. The sting has gone out of the heat and sleeping is much easier. Both day and night has cooled enough to be warm, but comfortable. Our wardrobes are full of four seasons of clothes, none of them worn for very long. Some friends have seasonal duvets too and have recently changed to their ‘autumn’ version. Sometimes I sift the stuff in the wardrobe and move it on to the collection points in the Soller Valley. Recycling is alive and well in our Town.

As the season changes, the location for those early evening drinks changes too. My preferred spot is always by the sea. At this time of year I find myself up in Town more often. Come 6pm the day trippers are on their way home and the holiday makers haven’t yet emerged for their dinner reservations. The world becomes very local for an hour, and shopping and chatter take the place of straw bags and tourist loveliness.

There are many here right now looking for properties to buy. Some amongst them are viewing the businesses which have just put themselves on the market. They all want to finish this season and then be gone before the start of next years. Change is all around us, with lovely, excited incomers ready to start their adventure, and others swapping the Soller scene for another and looking forward to new locations and adventures.

The Soller Town Hall Politicos have been inspired by the high-end projections and work done by an unelected political party on the transport issues. They have taken on board the Podemos work and are applying for funding to have a non-stop, small bus, picking up all round the Valley. They are not claiming the work or idea as their own, but they are right behind it, giving thanks to Podemos for the idea and costings. A heart-warming story of co-operation right here.

The scaffolding is being erected to make the relic of the Defensora Theatre safe. This road will be impassable for ages owing to all the steel. The genie is out of the bottle now on all the projects which have been outstanding for years. The Town Hall have got to be seen to be working hard on them all. They have had a very unfortunate start to their legislature.

The Gran Via, one of our main streets in town, is currently ‘half a boulevard’. Work has started this week to complete the job. This affects local traffic, parking for residents and access to one of the few central Soller car parking spaces. So, we have an inventive solution of a rogue traffic light and a re-routing. What can possibly go wrong?

Swimming complaints galore this week, as the one outdoor pool of Soller, has closed for its season. We have great indoor pools in the Son Angelats Centre, but this doesn’t work for the hardy ones who love the cool freshness of the pool in September. This story does the rounds every year at this time. In the past all sorts of solutions were promised but they have all come to nothing. There is not enough interest in off season swimming, to make it viable, we are told.

The Sollerweb inbox is full of Christmas questions. This offends those who don’t want to think of that season till at least December. The interesting point this year is that there is a 10 per cent increase of winter flights available. Maybe this is why there are more questions, and friends are poised to get their airline tickets early. Whether there is an increase in the number of hotels in Soller who will stay open all year, remains to be seen. I must admit being thinking about gathering ingredients for the Christmas Cake, which is tradition in my house. If I have a child to do the fruit chopping and stirring, a couple of cakes will be here in time for Christmas. Last year I even made my own marzipan, and it was a success!