What are you going to be when you grow up? The eternal grandparent question that children always squirm at. They have no idea and the questioners should know better, but we all do it! In the Soller Valley there are those who will never be asked that question as it is assumed they will follow the family tradition into farming, catering, hospitality, yachting or a service industry which supplies any of them. Hoteliers trying to prepare their own next generation family skills send the young off to posh hotel schools in Switzerland. This is so they will be ready when the call comes to begin their entry into the family business.
I have been here long enough to witness what that generation do as they become the main people in a family business. They take their lives and their role very seriously but some of their heart is always somewhere else. The music, poetry and sporting skills of this group make up the orchestra and the trainers of the next generation in Music, Football and other sports. It’s as if they have to keep a part of their brain for themselves to develop their own individual passion. Fortunately they share it and pass it on and become the teachers of those who will follow in their footsteps.
There are of course, others who choose University and College life and travel to other European centres to have a traditional student life and new country experiences. Madrid, Barcelona, Paris and London are the places they gravitate to. Some will settle and stay and others will come back here, to Mallorca, eventually. It is fascinating to watch the melting pot and particularly those returning after having a family of their own. There is something about the ability to give children a wonderful Mallorquin childhood which bring many ‘home’ at that point in their lives.
We learnt this week of the aspirations of the Soller Valley regarding their welcome to all newly arrived from the USA and Canada. The direct flight from New Jersey and the potential for other airports is hugely exciting. The front page of the Travel section of the New York Times recently had an article about tourism to ‘small island’ Mallorca. The accompanying picture, illustrating the island, was a fantastic photograph of the Soller Valley. Already in the sub conscious of their USA readers is the thought that ‘Soller’ is ‘Mallorca’.
The Soller Valley will run with that of course! They know their friends in Palma have much to offer but for the eclectic, original and highly progressive vantage point the Soller Valley is the place to be. The respect for the past and the present is the mark of a Solleric. This is one they want to pass on to the next generation of visitor and home owner. In the meantime I am busy with a friend from LA buying here in September and a Boston friend who wants to be home owner here by Christmas. Interesting times…