The government departments which fund action are many. This week we learnt that the 237,000 euros needed to fix our sea front is coming from one of them.
This was all decided in 2018 and most of us had forgotten there was a plan to tidy up our sea front. This money is heading for new pavements, street furniture, trees, garden areas and free connectivity to the internet for the whole bay.
There is one glaring omission which, maybe another government department has to pay for and that is public toilets. The design of everything new is going to be part of a local public competition. This will cause lots of chatter for the summer.
The work must begin in the Autumn of 2021 so that all is ready for the bumper year we are all expecting in 2022. Now that the Tramuntana Marina is finished with its beautification it is certainly time that the rest of the resort caught up.
This of course is not quick enough for local politicians. They denounced the Town Hall this week for the poor state of public parks and communal areas. They accused the powers-that-be for sitting on their hands as they know a big project will be happening in the Autumn. This is a problem which will get louder especially as we want to be tidy for the influx of visitors expected.
There are many who just hate anything changing in the Puerto Soller. They are not convinced that a beautifully designed lump of concrete is all its cracked up to be. They were very vocal this week when the rumour of a Chinese owned seafront Casino came our way.
I must emphasis that this is rumour and no-one has come forward either to confirm or deny.
With so many properties changing hands this year it is impossible to predict what the 2021 Puerto of Soller will look like.
Soller train is back!
The Soller Train resumes a four-train- a- day service from today. From Sóller there will be daily departures at 9 am and 5 pm and from Palma the departures will be at 10:30 am and 6 pm.
The tram service between Sóller and the Puerto will not vary and will continue to perform 18 services daily, nine in each direction. Many months have past with no train and it has just not been the same.
The train and the tram define Soller and we are all just so glad a few journeys a day will be coming our way.
Vaccination
Soller will soon have its own ‘Vaccinodrome’. Is this actually a word? Soller is known as ‘the island within an island’ and to have our own vaccination centre is important to our Mayor.
This week, those born from 1976 can book a vaccination and choose where they want to be done. Soller didn’t seem to be on the booking website this past weekend but I am sure they will soon correct this oversight. Otherwise they will have our Mayor to deal with.
Fira de la taronja
The Fiesta of the Orange came to an end last Sunday with a mini fiesta. Live music from local musicians in the square made a welcome return and the sun shone. We are all hoping this will be the last of the ‘non fiestas’.
The ‘orange menus’ in local restaurants have also finished their month delighting the palates of many. We now move into Summer and today, 1st June is the first day of summer. This lasts until 31st August and the vibe is upon us in Majorca.
Summer matters
Summer means so much and local promenading moves from Soller square to the beachside walkways. A drink here, a nod there and all is well in our summer world. Live music is happened upon and we sit on the sea wall having a listen. So far the rules still keep us off the beach at 9 pm, this curfew still hasn’t been lifted.
This is to stop young people’s gatherings, such as they are, in the Puerto Soller. This is a big issue in Palma but hardly gets a mention here except it gives the police something to do playing ‘hunt the curfew breaking teenager’.
The bit of the jigsaw still missing is any hint of the ‘Nit Trams’. This is the summer service which give us a tram until midnight for the season. So missed by townies who don’t want to get the car out to spend an evening by the sea. I hope the powers that be are reading this and give us good news soon.