My nickname of Dad Taxi becomes even more prevalent once the new football season starts. It’s slightly easier this year as my eldest Jacob has taken some time away from playing football to concentrate on his studies. My youngest Jude, however, is still full on because he is a goalkeeper and has specialist training twice a week as well as training with his team. Although that has also changed a little as he is training with two teams within the same club because of an injury to one of the goalkeepers.
Last weekend I was certainly earning my money as he was playing in Soller, which is a good 45 minutes from home. Apart from the football, I love travelling around the island, visiting places I wouldn’t normally go to and discovering the best cafés or bars in those towns or villages. There are not many places I haven’t been to, and If you’re interested, I normally know the best establishments for a Mallorca breakfast or lunch. Sometimes it’s the football club’s bar, but there’s not too many of those, so you then need to go and explore. Now, you couldn’t ask for a more picturesque stadium than the one in Soller, which is surrounded by mountains. The bar there isn’t too great to be honest, but there’s a café just past the stadium that does great Pa Amb Oli. Which is basically brown and olive oil which can be topped with virtually anything. Perhaps I could sell this idea to the Editor? Discovering Mallorca’s best football club eating establishments, I’m more than happy to take one for the team, if you get my drift.
Once in Soller you can’t help but wonder in the beauty of it, both the town and the port. With that in mind, if you’re looking for a place that suffers from “Over Tourism” then this is it. It was a Saturday afternoon in October, but it was still very busy and parking was at a premium. It got me thinking about how places like this can be helped. Before the Soller tunnel was built in 1997, people used to arrive via the tricky mountain road or by train from Palma. Both of those options still exist, but the advent of the tunnel has made access so much easier. Which is where the problem lies.
On the one hand, it’s great for residents to get out to work or school, but on the other hand, it makes it a lot easier for coaches and hire cars to get in. So my question is, why did they take the toll charge away in 2017? Surely it’s time to bring it back? Make it free to the residents of Soller, charge a discounted fee to island residents, and charge a fee to those who are just visiting for a day. Then use that money to protect the area. I touched on this last week with the Tourist Tax, as long as you are transparent as to where the money goes, then people won’t mind paying it. Place huge billboards at the entrance to the tunnel and in the town and port showing where the money has been spent. Another idea is a park and ride scheme, with car parks before you reach the tunnel and coaches to bring you in. One coach would be the equivalent of between 15 and 20 cars less. Or you could do park and train.
The current Palma to Soller train stops at Bunyola so you could build a car park there, or look to build another stop with a car park. This would significantly reduce the number of cars, but you would have to increase the frequency of the trains, as there are currently only 6 running into Soller on a daily basis. What about park and boat? Not sure if that is done already? Possibly by an organised excursion, but this would be parking somewhere on the coast and being ferried in. Now these are just ideas, and they may have been talked about already, but something needs to be done. We all want the best places in Mallorca to be preserved for now and for future generations.