but we will come back...
Last Sunday Louisa and I left for the Netherlands with a fully packed car and dog Esaw. The ferry took us from Palma to Barcelona and then we drove almost 1500km by car to finally arrive at our own village "Sérum". Here we are currently staying in our own quarantine bubble and we are preparing ourselves for a stay in the Netherlands for the coming months. Due to the continuous Covid situation and private reasons a choice, made with the head, which is as insurmountable as it is sensible. However, our heart is crying a little...
An unreal scenario
For many, and certainly for us, the year 2020 will be a year that we will always remember. It looked promising with many bookings and the start of our new rental portal with several beautiful Bike Villas. From Sunday 15 March, however, everything became different. Trapped in our own little house on the mountain it was raining cancellations and at once the future was uncertain. We looked at an open end; when could we receive guests again? This became totally unimportant due to the sudden death of my dad. The 6 weeks in the Netherlands were special and valuable. From mid-June suddenly all doors opened again in Majorca and we were able to receive several guests again. And there was income again! We really enjoyed the holiday with our daughters in our own area. Good food, boat trip, shopping, beach/sea and kitesurfing lessons. Brother Gerard also visited us with his daughters. But just as suddenly everything locked up again in the second week of August. Back to square one! Flora is now in the Netherlands and with the earlier "departure" of Maartje, so an "empty nest". And again that damn uncertainty. Meanwhile, the financial challenge is getting very big and we can't escape rigorous decisions. As of September we had to cancel the rent of our own house on the mountain and Louisa and I live with our dogs Maggy (she now stays with über dog mother Stacey) and Esaw in the lower part of our large holiday home Son Flora. When it slowly becomes clear that this situation will last at least well into 2021, an unreal scenario becomes more and more real. We have to temporarily return to the Netherlands to secure our future on Majorca.
One step backwards and several steps forward
Head and heart...Head and heart...a rollercoaster of emotions. Trade in the beautiful and sunny Majorca (our home) for the, in this period, grey and chilly Netherlands. By now we know that we have made the right decision with our head and also our heart. Back in the Netherlands also means being close to our daughters, family and friends. And also close to my mother, who unfortunately is not doing very well. The setbacks and challenges we face are not nauseating, but people who follow us know that we are always looking for solutions and opportunities. This is also the case now. And 'happiness compels you' they say. It seems that despite the current absurd and difficult situation, we have picked up the momentum. Louisa and I are going to live in our "own" place with Gerard and Wendel (sister Louisa) in the beautiful village of Lottum. Louisa is going to work in healthcare and I am going to work on a beautiful and challenging management assignment. Finally we can earn money again instead of the money disappearing into a big black hole! Meanwhile, our house Son Flora has been rented out for a longer period of time and we are assured of several months of income and thus coverage of our costs in Mallorca. We continue to run and develop our company Bike Villas Mallorca. We are very happy with the many bookings for 2021 that have already been received. In addition, we are going to start a new company in the Netherlands. A travel agency with which we will offer package holidays to cyclists who would like to experience a fully catered cycling holiday in a Bike Villa. Not only in Majorca but also in beautiful other cycling areas. Seemingly an illogical plan (who starts a travel agency these days...?) but we believe in the future of our businesses. A step from which we both get a lot of energy. We take one step backwards and then take several steps forward!
Majorca we come back
The next few months in the Netherlands were not planned, but we are going to get the most out of it. Enjoying our daughters Flora and Maartje, helping and supporting them where necessary in their challenges, enjoying the coming holidays with family (if Prime Minister Mark Rutte allows it), there are for mum and with that sister Mariëlle and brother Gerard relieve in their caring tasks for mum. We continue to work with a lot of energy on the development of our companies (sounds cool to say...) and also earn money to secure our future on Majorca.
Majorca: an adios for now, but we will be back!
