Around 2,500 people (according to organizers, 1,000 people according to the Spanish government delegation) demonstrated this Saturday in Sóller along a route that began in Plaça dels Estiradors, passed through Carrer de la Lluna, and culminated in Plaça de la Constitució. After the demonstration on July 26 in Palma, Sóller, a symbol of tourist overcrowding, was the next stage of citizen mobilization.

The demonstration called for this Saturday in Sóller by the Platform Less Tourism, More Life is planned as a peaceful, civic, and family mobilization. The organization has called for responsible participation and respect to ensure the day unfolds with normality and safety.

A month ago, the Moviment Jove de Sóller (Young Movement of Sóller) called for the August 8th protest against saturation in the municipality, which they consider one of Mallorca's hotspots in terms of touristification: a municipality where "all the effects of overcrowding are clearly observed," state members of the entity, in conversation with ARA Balears. "For us, it is impossible to imagine a future in Sóller," they lament, and emphasize that the measures implemented by the City Council, focused on mobility (more parking, some only for residents, and low-emission zones among others), do not solve the underlying problems caused by saturation. The main one, as in the rest of the Balearic Islands, is housing.

The demonstration called by the Moviment Jove de Sóller and the platform Menys Turisme, Més Vida for next Saturday, August 8 arrives surrounded by controversy. After the tensions derived from the multitudinous protest against tourist overcrowding on July 26 in Palma, marked by the charges of the National Police at the end of the route, the controversy has now moved to Sóller. Just over a week before the mobilization, the Association of Merchants of Carrer de la Lluna has requested to modify the itinerary or the schedule of the march for security reasons and the impact it could have on commercial activity, a request that the organizers reject and interpret as an attempt to displace the protest from the main commercial axis of the municipality.

The Sóller Youth Movement and the Menys Turisme, Més Vida platform have called for a new mobilization against the touristification of the municipality for next August 8. The entities are calling for people to take to the streets to denounce the effects of the tourism model on the town and to demand measures that limit growth.

Two people had to be evacuated this Tuesday morning from the Torre de la Seca area, after being unable to continue the mountain route they were doing due to tiredness and lack of water. The alert was received on Monday at 9:17 PM and members of the Sóller Mountain Rescue Group, with the support of the Milana helicopter, were dispatched to the site, as reported by the Mallorca Firefighters.

The Socialist Party today demanded of the People's Party of Sóller and the President of the Government, Marga Prohens, a clear and immediate condemnation of the aggressive threats by the mayor of Sóller, Miquel Nadal, directed against the socialist spokesperson and councilor in the opposition, Jaume Mateu. The socialist party also demanded that Prohens and the popular party request immediate explanations regarding the alleged case of prevarication.

A court in Palma has opened proceedings against the mayor of Sóller, Miquel Nadal (PP), and several councillors and former councillors of the City Council for an alleged case of favoritism towards a former councillor of the same party and current owner of two establishments in Port de Sóller.

It is enough to spend a few minutes in Carrer de la Lluna in Sóller to realize how difficult it is to find any 'native' there. There isn't a tourist guide that doesn't recommend visiting this spot in town, and it shows. It's also hard to walk without bumping into someone, and finding a traditional shop is now almost impossible. “About four businesses close a year on this street. My mother has a haberdashery there, and when she retires, no one will take it over. They'll put in another souvenir shop. The photography shop closed, and the clothing shop geared towards the island's residents. In fact, I used to be able to buy a book in Sóller. And now there's no bookstore,” explains Bartomeu Miró, a resident of the town and spokesperson for SOS Sóller, a citizen movement that has not stopped denouncing that the situation is unsustainable.

Emergency works are beginning today at the Fábrica Nueva de Sóller to ensure the building's safety and halt years of deterioration. The ultimate goal is to transform this listed Building of Cultural Interest (BIC) into the Textile Museum of Mallorca.

The Sóller Town Council will approve a resolution next week, in a plenary session, that will require the owners of the Bàlitx de Enmig estate, belonging to the March family, to remove the barrier that has for years blocked access to a public path included in both the municipal catalog and the Dry Stone Route of the Consell de Mallorca (Mallorca Council). The decision was agreed upon at the last Heritage Committee meeting, where several matters related to the environment and the conservation of public heritage were discussed. According to municipal sources, the resolution will give the owners a maximum of eight days to remove the barrier blocking the path. In case of non-compliance, the Town Council itself will carry out the removal at the owners' expense. The City Council intends to restore normalcy to a historic route connecting Sóller and Fornalutx with La Costera and Cala Tuent, which was irregularly closed in 2009. Although the path is part of the public heritage, no action was taken against the fencing for over a decade. It wasn't until 2021 that the Balearic Government's Environmental Agents reported the situation. This action subsequently led to a fine against the Sóller City Council itself by the Territorial Defense Agency (ADT) of the Council of Mallorca, which imposed a coercive penalty of 600 euros per month for failing to restore public access. This penalty was appealed, and its collection is currently suspended. Attempt to divert the route

Following several complaints and reports, the owners of the estate created an alternative route, aiming to divert hikers away from the main house. However, this detour was not authorized. Initially, the Consell de Mallorca (Mallorca Council) had included this variant within the Dry Stone Route, but ultimately did not admit it in the final approval of the Special Plan, modified in 2022. In addition to the detour, the owners installed information panels that mimicked the official signage of the Consell on mountain routes. This action contributed to confusing hikers and solidified the closure of the historic path, which remains publicly owned and must remain open. With the approval of the resolution, the Sóller City Council takes a step towards ending a conflict that has been entrenched for more than a decade and guaranteeing free access to one of the emblematic sections of the public path network in the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range.

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The glosadas and the picado battles remain a living testament to the oral and festive traditions of the Balearic Islands. The glosadas, poetic improvisations often sung in a duel format, keep alive the critical and satirical spirit of the people, while the picado battles—a kind of verbal and musical game between glosadores—allow participants to test their skill and wit against their rivals.

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It seems the farmers of the Balearic Islands foresaw that avocado toast would become a staple snack in many countries: avocados have been cultivated in the Sóller Valley for almost twenty years. Faced with the need to diversify crops and thanks to the increased demand for avocados, the area's farmers opted for this tropical crop. Some have even uprooted orange trees and replaced them with avocados, whose fruit sells for more than oranges. Furthermore, it ripens after being picked, making it less urgent to harvest than an orange, as it remains green on the tree. There are currently 22.25 hectares of irrigated avocado orchards in Mallorca and 8.32 hectares in Ibiza, primarily of the Hass (the most widely traded variety worldwide) and Bacon varieties. A large portion of the island's avocados are consumed in Europe, especially in Germany.

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The San Bartolomé de Sóller Cooperative—the oldest in Spain at 126 years old—now has an organic olive mill. This project stems from collaboration between farmers and the government, with the aim of improving the quality of the island's olive oil, which "is increasingly competing in a better market and must raise the bar, which is already very high," explains Mique, president of both the San Bartolomé de Sóller Cooperative and the Camp Mallorquí Cooperative. Added to this is the desire to give a boost to the island's industry. "And what better way to do that than through the organic sector?" he asks.

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Surprise and concern among residents and visitors of the port of Sóller. On Monday afternoon, a submarine was seen sailing just a few meters from the coast, setting off alarm bells and curiosity. According to the image published by the Sóller Weekly, the submarine passed just a few meters from the boats anchored in the sea.

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A taxi driver from Sóller has taken to social media to denounce the actions of a local police officer after being fined €200 while accompanying a wheelchair-bound passenger to her home. As he explains in a Facebook post, he stopped the adapted taxi to a disabled parking space near the taxi rank, as the area was occupied by other vehicles, and helped the woman for five minutes to accompany her to her home. When he returned, he was faced with the fine.

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Residents of Sóller have launched the 'Salvem Sóller' initiative through Change.org to denounce the proliferation of new parking lots in the municipality. In the campaign, they warn that five parking lots have already been built—with another three in the pipeline—without a clear mobility strategy and with a strong environmental and landscape impact.

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The tourist overcrowding in Sóller and the arrival of thousands of foreigners year after year has led some of them to decide to buy homes in the town. According to sources from SOS Sóller, there are about twenty real estate agencies in the vicinity of the town square. At the time of writing, the cheapest house listed on the Idealista website costs €255,000, but it only has 52 square meters. It's a third-floor apartment with no elevator. In this context of neighborhood tension due to the problems that Sóller's reputation entails, a local real estate agency has celebrated selling a house to a resident. Real estate agency Tolo Oliver has hung a sign in a window of the residence, which reads: "Sold to people from Sóller, as it should be."

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MÁS por Sóller has called for public management of water to prevent the municipality from finding itself in a critical situation like the current one again. "It is time to plan the remunicipalization of the service and prevent us from reaching critical points like the current one in the future," the group stated in a press release.

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