Day: September 30, 2024

As can be seen by flicking through my Exploring Second Life series, one of the things I enjoy is seeking out coffee house style hang-outs, as well as places that are photogenically pleasing and interesting to explore. Within Les Bean at the Salty C, I found a place that combines all three – hardly surprising given the region’s designers: Emm (Emm Evergarden) of The Nature Collective fame (among other things) and Teagan Cerulean.

The smell of salt in the air, the crash of waves, and distant harbor ferry welcomes you. Set sail to a place where the ocean whispers tales of a magical island. Whether seeking solace, adventure, or inspiration, the Cerulean offers a storybook escape.

– Les Bean at the Salty C About Land Description

Occupying a Full private region leveraging the Lab’s Land Capacity bonus, the setting is very much multiple-part in nature whilst forming a fairly continuous set of landscapes. By this I mean that within the region there is a mix of private occupancy homes, public spaces and private rentals, all of which are split across the three islands into which the region has been split, with the islands themselves offering landscapes that flow one to the next.

Of these islands, the triangular one sitting in the region’s south-east corner appears to be entirely private in nature, existing within its own parcel and entirely separated from the rest of the region by the intervening stretches of water. As such, it plays no further role in this article. Of the other two, both offer a mix of public and private areas, but with a clear delineation between the two, reducing the risk of trespass.

The main island, oriented north-to-south along the western side of the region, is home to the main Landing Point for the setting. Separated from the other two islands by a central channel of water, this island comprises a central public area forming a small town-style element, bracketed to the south and north by private residences, those to the north being available for rent at the time of my visit. The Landing Point sits on a cobbled plaza overlooking the waterfront of the central channel and backed by the coffee house, which shares the space with an ice cream parlour and a record store.

It is here that I must underscore the need for careful exploration and camming here; not only is the region packed with detail throughout, there is also some super little touches of humour to be found around the town in the form of signs and chalkboards; some of which I perhaps identified with a little too much (e.g. “I tried starting a day without coffee once – My court date is pending”). The town itself has a curiously mixed feel which is equally charming to take in; by turn offering touches of rural France, the Mediterranean, hints of Tuscany – and even flavours of Mexico and North America (the latter in the form of the stream train halted at the local station). Life to the setting is added by the presence of a range of vehicles, washing hanging on lines, place settings at the restaurant, a town market, and an engaging soundscape (I particularly liked the train service announcements!).

At the northern end of the little town is a flight of steps descending into the residential rentals area of the island, headed by a map of the region highlighting the available properties. Trespass here can be avoided by keeping to the boardwalks laid over the grass here, and one of these does actually lead to a public seating area on a deck up towards the north-west corner of the island.

The waterfront below the little town is a busy little area, offering some mooring space for small boats running directly below the sea wall, and a wharf pointing out into the channel. The latter is home to a little rough-and-ready bar and docking for the local ferry. The latter is Analyse Dean’s excellent Bandit vehicular ferry, which chugs its way back and forth between this pier and the one on the west coast of the island occupying the north-east quarter of the region, which is home to the rest of the public spaces within the setting.

This triangular island has – to me – more of a feel of North America. Heavily wooded, it also has a private residence within it, so some caution is required when exploring, particularly as the path winding away from the ferry dock eventually arrives at said private residence, climbing up to it by way of steps cut into a hill slope. However, as there is plenty of humorous warning the house in question is a private residence (“No Trespassing. We’re tired of hiding the bodies”), visitors can avoid it and simply carry on to the tumbledown and strange house sitting further up the hill.

The latter is one of two places on the island offering a sense of the haunted as brooms magically sweep floors. I’ll leave you to find the other such place on the island, and say only that it also has an item of clothing that seems to be knitting itself to add to the slightly haunted feel, and that the location itself is again charming in its general presentation, even if the cabin is itself is oddly overgrown.

As noted, this is a highly photogenic setting with a lot to see – more than I’ve covered here (the sense of ghostly mystery is enhanced to the southern end of the main water channel and close to the lighthouse, for example, where ghostly singing might be heard)  -, so again, care in exploring is well worthwhile. Given the soundscape available through the region, do make sure local sounds are enabled, and use of the region’s shared environment is also recommended, as it gives a suitably autumnal feel in keeping with the rest of the region.

In all, and enjoyable place to visit.

SLurl Details

• Les Bean at the Salty C (Cerulean Sea, rated Moderate)