On Tuesday, May 18th, I read Inara Pey’s blogpost “A trip to the Bayou in Second Life” and decided spontaneously to visit “80 Days – The Bayou“, furtheron also just “The Bayou“, right away.
The Bayou is a moderate homestead, owned and designed by Camila Runo. The landmark description reads as follows: “Louisiana in the Deep South, home to the Jazz and the Blues. Music fills the air wherever you go. – French Quarter, Cayun, swamp, alligators, Voodoo, zoo, animals, beach, romance, dancing, summer, BBQ, photogenic, scenic“
80 Days – The Bayou: Overview and orientation map / landing point and paddle steamer
The landing point is right next to an old paddle steamer, one of the attractions of the sim. Upon landing your can grab a folder with a lot of information, that I used in this blogpost:
“The old paddle steamer “Dixie Belle” brought you to Louisiana in the Deep South of the USA. The dock where you debarked is situated on the banks of the Mississippi. From there you have a nice view to a near town as well as to the coastal marsh and the swamp the dock is connected with by a long wooden bridge.“
Impressions of 80 Days – The Bayou (1) – The paddle steamer
The paddle steamer offers some activities. First of all it is a great location and background motif for photographers, but you can also go onboard and play Black Jacker or Poker. I for my part focused on taking pictures though.
“Where to go first? To the left to visit the town or to the right to see the swamp? No matter where you go first, you will be surrounded either by the sounds of nature or by typical Louisiana tunes (turn your speakers on).”
I decided to got exploring the town first.
Impressions of 80 Days – The Bayou (2) – The town
“The town is built in the style of the French Quarter in New Orleans, including a cemetery, a Jazz club, a restaurant, a barber/tattoo shop and some residential buildings in the typical French Quarter look.”
The town looks also very nice in the evening or at night as the houses are well illuminated by lights and race lights.
Impressions of 80 Days – The Bayou (3) – The town
I left the town and visited the Alligator farm. “Just have an eye on your limbs. Though we feed the gators well, they always up for a little snack.” I had a little break at a bbq close to the river and went back to the paddle steamer to visit the swamp.
Impressions of 80 Days – The Bayou (4) – The Alligator farm, the bbq place and entering the swamp
A wooden walkway leads into the swamp. Admist the swamp you will find a house, a Voodoo shack. The swamp is another great environment for taking pictures. Of course you can also see some alligators, hence you have to stay careful. If you walk beyond the Voodoo shack you will find a boat rezzer and I took a boat for my further simploring.
Impressions of 80 Days – The Bayou (5) – The swamp and the Voodoo shack
There is also a second boat rezzer on the banks of the Mississippi. Exploring by boat is also fun and offers new views. You can also reach another island with the boat (more swamp and mangroves). The other smaller islands are off sim objects and can’t be reached, but you can make a boat trip around the whole sim. Watch out for animals, another great motif.
Impressions of 80 Days – The Bayou (6) – Exploring with a motor boat
And why is the sim called “80 Days – The Bayou“? Camila Runo explains it in one of the information notecards: “The term is referring to Jules Verne’s book “Around the world in 80 days”. As I understand my projects as stops on my virtual voyage around the world (e.g. Jambo / Africa and Nour / Arabia last year, Vargsången / Scandinavia this year), I found the name appropriate for the new group I created. This group will also comprise each future project of mine.“
Thank you Camila for creating The Bayou and for sharing it publicly. I enjoyed my visit a lot, it was like a short vacation.
Landmark to 80 Days – The Bayou
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/White%20Widow/156/92/22
Inara Pey’s blogpost “A trip to the Bayou in Second Life”
https://modemworld.me/2021/05/17/a-trip-to-the-bayou-in-second-life/
80 Days – The Bayou flickr
https://www.flickr.com/groups/eightydays
Diomita Maurer’s Blog 