For my simploring tour on Monday, June 21st, I picked “Ilha Do Sol” from scoop it SL Destinations.
Ilha de Sol is Portugese and translates to “Island of the sun”. It consists of 3 connected moderate homesteads – Taal Lake, Norton and Peace. Ilha de Sol is owned by Syx Toshi and his partner Bryn Toshi (Bryn Bulloch).
The landmark description wraps it up in just a few words:
“Island of the sun. A beautiful Mediterranean Island. Come and enjoy our town, vineyards and beaches. Surfing, horseback riding, bicycling and much more.“
Ilha Do Sol – overview and orientation map
The landing is right in the center of a small town, that radiates the atmosphere of the Mediterranean. The town is livened up with quite some static figures, hence you’re not alone there. Tourists and photographers stroll through the town. And on the central marketplace there are also dealers at the stands. I sat down at a caf´e from where I could watch and enjoy the atmosphere.
Impressions of Ilha Do Sol (1) – in the town
At the market you find the entrance to a tunnel. The tunnel leads to the surf beach. It is a very long beach. Along the beach you find several camps of surfers as well as a few buildings. But the main purpose of the beach is – surfing. at the end of the beach is a surf board rezzer. You can see the 2 big waves on the ocean, that are “surfable” in Second Life. I never surfed so far and hence I postponed it.
Impressions of Ilha Do Sol (2) – the surf beach
Instead a visited the surf shop. It is not an inworld store for surf boards and accessoires. The shop is just very decorative and looks “real”. There’s someone at the register, there are customers in- and outside, there’re a lot of surf boards, a shop to repairing boards and a lot of decoarations and details. It’s a great place for taking pictures as well as just to explore and enjoy.
Impressions of Ilha Do Sol (3) – the surf shop
I left the beach of Ilha Do Sol and took another way back in the direction of the town. The road led me into the countryside. I came by a little garden with fruit trees, sunflowers and a few chicken. And I came by a hut with a horse rezzer in front of it. I took a horse and rode into the contryside.
Impressions of Ilha Do Sol (4) – the countryside
I visited the vine terraces and came to a private residence, most probably the home of Syx Toshi and his partner Bryn Toshi (Bryn Bulloch), who own the sim. The rest of this homestead (the private residence is on the homestead “peace”) is free to visit and offers real countryside, a bit meagre but typical for the Mediterranean. I for my part liked the natural beauty of the landscape a lot. And there is a large and lonely beach. As rezzing is allowed you could bring your beach gear with your and enjoy the loneliness. You’d never get that in RL *winks*.
Impressions of Ilha Do Sol (5) – the countryside, vine terraces, lonely beaches
Somehow I felt like I should try the surfing once being here. Hence I changed into my swimsuit and rezzed a board. I got a quite detailed notecard with instructions. Surfing in SL can be tricky and needs practice. But there’s also an option for beginners and an easy mode – and I tried that. It was real fun! YAY!
Impressions of Ilha Do Sol (6) – Diomita surfing
I had a great time at Ilha Do Sol. It was quite like a short virtual vacation. I could almost smell the Mediterranean. Thank you Syx (Syx Toshi) and Bryn (Bryn Bulloch) for sharing your great and lovely place publicly. I really enjoyed my visit like a short vacation!
Landmark to Ilha Do Sol
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Norton/146/128/24
Diomita Maurer’s Blog 