Fish and chips have taken over our Soller Valley lives. Not the 30-euro fish dishes on many of the restaurant menus of our zone but proper stuff. Wrapped in newspaper with loads of vinegar to pour, lemon, plus a bit of tartare sauce if you’re posh. This all happens on Thursday and Friday nights in the pop up zone of the end of the Puerto Soller. La Base is part of the huge development allowing the neglected space to grow into new build offices and a restaurant complex to be ready for next year. In the past the summer has been full of live music and food vans in this area. None of us were sure what was going to happen as the new build took shape. Delighted to announce that in a ‘smaller space’ La Base came to life again this year with our favourite music and food vans.
The main season for this has ended now but the fish and chips just keep on coming. The people of the Soller Valley make their way to the edge of the Port to greet the Wanderlust Food Van and its outstanding fish and chips. Every Thursday and Friday from 7 pm dinner is served at 9.50 euros! Good bar with helpful staff and background music to chill too. It has become the locals ‘must go to’ venue and we rub along with all the staff from the beautiful yachts parked up there. Wanderlust is to be found at venues all over the island so if you see them enjoy the fish and chips we love so much.
The season is changing here and the decisions from some are being announced. Bar Turismo is a legend in Soller and they have just announced their closing date. The English speaking community know this place from the days Elena Davis ran the English Library there. She did this every day for thirty years until kindles and the internet took over. Bar Turismo is its name and welcomed tourists from the very early days in Soller tourism. Situated close to the train with the tram running past its door every thirty minutes it is a landmark.
This bar managed, with huge success, to be a locals and visitors bar. Open all year and at the centre of Firo and all Soller celebrations everybody found their way there.
Time moves on and landlord extraordinaire Tony is retiring. The reaction to this news is overwhelming with huge sadness and questions being asked all over Soller. Friday nights and Saturday lunchtime gathering are never going to be the same again is the general consensus. The prices in this place were always reasonable, the welcome always warm and the noise levels often unbearable! That just the way it is in Bar Turismo and we still have a few more weeks to enjoy it just as it is.
The 100 days since local elections have now passed and the evaluations are going on. I am fascinated by local expectations. Many have political interests but for many Soller politics comes down to rubbish collections and clean streets. After fiestas the cleaners always impress and we are astonished how that the mayhem of the night before is not evident next morning. After the storms of last week, the beach was a mess with all the detritus brought in from the sea.Within hours on social media local people were complaining about the state of the beach. At that point I wondered why people ever went into politics.
The expectations of a magic wand to clean even after a major storm was just unbelievable. I am glad to report that the tidy up is ongoing and the beaches are returning to their normal state.
The next two weekends in Puerto Soller sees us in full celebration. Saturday September 21 starts The Fiesta of the Sea. Food tastings, craft stalls, events, music and much more will be around for the weekend. This is followed on September 27 & 28 for the Festival of the Havaneres. The summer and celebrations are not yet over. Look out for reduced price train and tram tickets to bring all our Palma friends to join us for the Havaneres.
Life happens every day and we are all in the mood to carry on celebrating it in the Soller Valley. Come and join us – you are very welcome.