Frisland, Laluna Island, March 2014

Logging-in to the Second Life on Sunday March 23rd, I was somewhat – and pleasantly – surprised to receive an invitation from Charlie Namiboo to preview the region she, Anna Barzane and Frislanda “Fris” Ferraris have been quietly developing. Called Frisland, for reasons which will become clear below, it will open its gates to the public at large on March 31st.

Even though I’m always delighted to receive recommendations of places to visit, this particular invitation was so charmingly presented, complete with bird box and little bird, I had to accept the group offer and hop on over and take a peek. And right from the start, I can say this is a place SL explorers are going to love.

Frisland, Laluna Island, March 2014

It is also one with a fascinating backstory as well, as the invitation explained:

A few weeks ago Frislanda did a search on Google about the origin of his name and found an article about a phantom island called “Frisland” in the North Atlantic. He just asked us what we would think of creating a region in Second Life based upon the idea of that phantom island. We were all for it! And so we started the project with the working title “Frisland’s rebirth” …

Frisland’s alleged existence appears to date from around the 1550s, when it started to appear on maps of the North Atlantic, and continued to do so for at least the next 100 years, although its position was prone to movement, sometimes being placed south or south-west of Iceland, at other times being place closer to the Faroes off the coast of Britain and at others depicted as a part of a chain of islands extending from the Labrador coast almost as far as Scotland. There were even depictions of it in maps from the 18th century, when it was thought to be the southern part of Greenland, separated from the rest by an ocean strait.

Frisland, Laluna Island, March 2014

Quite how Frisland came to be on maps is a mystery. The most common belief is that it was a hoax, mostly likely perpetrated in Italy. Others, however, carry the romantic notion that it might have been the last remnant of Atlantis, and only vanished when it finally succumbed to the Atlantic …

The Frisland Fris, Anna and Charlie have created has its own romance. Standing on it, it is easy to imagine you’re standing on a windswept island surrounded by the grey and deep waters of the ocean, which has in part shaped the land, carving the high rocks to one side of the coastline, while on the other, gentler weather and sea conditions appear to prevail, giving rise to a lowland area suitable for houses and perhaps crops, while bordered by a beach.

Frisland, Laluna Island, March 2014

Like many of the islands off the coast of Scotland, this is a rural environment, and which – even allowing for the Gulf Stream – may well experience hard winters. The grass in thick on the ground, the cattle warm beneath shaggy coats, the horses grateful for the shelter of their sheds. No roads can be found here, no vehicles, just paths and tracks which link the houses to one another, wooden bridges crossing the streams, and stone steps carefully laid up the sides of hills to provide access to the uplands and to the island’s quaint red-painted chapel.

This is a self-sufficient hamlet, a tall windmill providing the means to grind crops, little gardens carefully cultivated to grow vegetables, with greenhouses nearby to help. It is all, in a word, idyllic.

Frisland, Laluna Island, March 2014

Despite the open nature of the island, there is a lot of detail to be enjoyed as one explores; many of Morgan Garret’s exquisite birds are to be found across the island – so do please have local sounds enabled when visiting so you can enjoy their song (and if you’re unfamiliar with Morgan’s wonderful creations, I’ve written about them in the past). There are many other touches as well, from the cheeky goat helping himself to items in a vegetable garden after someone left the gate open, through to the sheltered spots where one can sit and think or watch the world or share time with a friend, a generous picnic to hand.

Frisland, Laluna Island, March 2014

This is a beautiful build, complemented by a custom windlight by Charlie that adds depth to the feeling of being on a lost – or phantom – island, although admittedly, I’ve cheated in some of my shots and used alternative lighting to try to catch different moods.

As mentioned near the top, Frisland opens on Sunday March 31st, and I thoroughly recommend it.

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