Update: Syx contacted me to assure me the villa in the north region is indeed open to the public, and encourages people to pop in to witness Bryn’s interior design!
Ilha do Sol (literally “Sun Island”) is an estate comprising three regions designed by Syx Toshi and with touches by his SL partner Bryn Toshi (Bryn Bulloch), that between them offer a touch of Mediterranean sunshine and Californian surf in a contiguous setting that runs south-to-north through the estate.
While teleporting is open, perhaps the best place to start explorations is the middle region, the home of the little town of Ilha Do Sol itself. This huddles itself around a small bay and climbs the shoulders of the hills that cup the bay’s waters. Here, visitors are placed down within the small praça that sits on the landward side of the bay, separated from the water by a narrow ribbon of grass and sand on to which have been drawn a number of rowing boats, while a couple more sit out on the water.
Featuring a traditional fishing boat of times past, the praça is home to a modest open market that is proving popular with tourists and locals alike (the familiar static NPCs that are to be increasingly found across many public regions). The majority of the buildings bordering the square and climbing into the hills of the bay are façades, although a couple do have interior décor for those who wander the waterfront.
A tunnel sits to the rear of the praça, providing a subterranean route to the southern region, of which more anon. Passing over this tunnel is the main north-south road, which ends in a small car park overlooking the south region whilst also running north into the open country beyond the town.
The north side of the town sits back from this main road, and offers more to see with little houses sitting along narrow streets, one of which forms a little cycle shop where bicycles can be rezzed and used by visitors. The local church can also be found here as well, tall and slim and with it doors open to visitors. Beyond it, the paved road twists around an upland shoulder of rock and quickly turns to a dusty track that winds into the northern region of the estate. Here, just across the region boundary is a small stable and field where visitors can rez a horse and go for a ride.
This northern region is largely open – there’s the sables, a small orchard and, climbing further into the hills, the steps of a vineyard, each held in place by a tile-topped wall, the vines fed water from sprinklers also mounted atop the walls. Having petered out prior to reaching these terraces, the track resumes to curl around them and climb up to pass close to the wall of a large villa before continuing on to the edge eastern cliffs that drop away to the sea.
The villa sits within its own parcel, and while there is no sign or other indication this is the case, it gives the impression of perhaps being a private residence. As such, I didn’t pass through the gates as I didn’t want to invade privacy.
Returning to the southernmost region of the estate, this takes the form of a sweeping sandy bay facing open waters where whitecaps periodically roll into the shallows, offering the opportunity for surfing and swimming. The beach itself is home to a surf school that has its own lounge and swimming pool, while on its eastern side the sand runs between the blue waters and a number of private residences in the form of RVs, trailers and tents that sit along the edge of the region.
Rezzing here is open, allowing people to use their own surfing and swimming gear, while for those who don’t have any surfing kit, board rezzers are also available. I confess that I didn’t ride the waves during my visit – but I did use the open sands to take my horse for a good gallop around the bay! Those who enjoy their surfing experiences might like to climb the sandy slope at the back of the beach to Syx’s shop as it sits with a commanding view over the bay and connects back to the town’s car park via a board walk.
There are many attractions to be found around Ilha Do Sol, and it lends itself well to photography, particularly if you take the time to try different EEP settings. However, for me, what really makes this as a setting is the time Syx has taken in order to blend traversable region with off-region surrounds to create a natural landscape. This rises from the sea to slow hills and scrubby plains and then to grass-topped foothills that join with the surrounding mountains that gives the setting a depth of design that is eye-catching.
SLurl Details
- Ilha Do Sol (Norton, rated Moderate)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 