Category: Reviews

Valarie (Zalindah) is a region designer whose work I have covered on multiple occasions in this blog; working on her own or with with Jayden Mercury, she has created a series of memorable region designs over the last few years, all of which I have enjoyed visiting So I was delighted to visit her most recent design for 2021, which opened in August within a Homestead region.

A solo design by Valerie, LANA presents a rich, and in places quirky, setting. The name she has chosen for the setting is rich in its potential meanings – loyalty, wool, an alternate form of the names Alana or Helen, the name of a village in the Tyrol region, and so on. Here, Valerie offers her own definition for the word for the name of her design:

To be ‘calm as still waters’ or ‘afloat’, holding on and inhaling what the world has to offer despite experiencing loss. Allowing nature to take over, seasons to tease you and animals to be our friends. 

– LANA, About Land description

It’s an interesting introduction to the region, suggesting as it does this is a place of recuperation from loss, together with the idea of renewal and recovery, of giving space. Almost all of this is present within the region, which offers itself for rest, exploration and enjoyment; but whether drawn to it out of a sense of loss or not is really down to personal circumstance, although there is  more than enough within the setting to allow memories free passage as we explore.

This is also place, as the description notes, that teases visitors with the four seasons, from a tropical summer in the south-east, through warmer summer greens around the middle of the setting that rise to a large northern hilltop rich in the sense of spring. These are balanced to the west by an autumnal setting that surrounds a small pair of roads and their buildings and, north of this, an avenue of trees that carry the darker green of later summer days as they skirt the base of the springtime hill to reach a small winter’s headland.

It is on the western side of the region, sitting in the bay between autumn and winter, that the landing point sits. This has the first quirk in the region, a short spur of rail line that extends into the water to end in a photo backdrop and on which a single railcar sits. The latter blocks the walk to shore and must be waded around, although this is not an inconvenience, as it reveals the first hint of the oriental touches to the setting in the form of lanterns floating in the water.

Further oriental touches can be found across the setting – such as in the winter headland, for example, where torii gates lead the way to to the upper part of a pagoda sits on a rocky outcrop or up on the springtime hilltop, ripe in Sakura blossom that surround a koi house and its little garden. Not that the far east is the only influence here. The route from tropical beach to hilltop spring, for example is marked by ruins that might be considered medieval in looks – but could also be from central or southern Asia (as well as having a slight elven lean to that as they reach up to the Japanese-style bridge that spans the hilltop’s bubbling stream.

The animals mentioned within the About Land description take multiple forms, from the familiar to the fantastical. Most seem to be standing guard or observing what is going on close by. For example, a floating market in the central lake that carries echoes of Indonesia is being watched over by tigers, while, the route between beach and hilltop appears guarded at various points by a black panther (bringing forth thoughts of Bagheera, Mowgli and India) within the ruins, an albino lion along the path leading to the Koi house and between them, on the bridge, a flying (if wingless) dragon.

To the west, in the little urban setting with is overgrown streets and tumble-down buildings, deer away discovery, watched over by the statue of a Chinese dragon sat before a torii gate, whilst overhead, a chinthe-like dragon hovers with lazy wing flaps. Even the path from the landing point is watched over by a red panda – albeit it one of the stuffed toy variety (and a little oversized!). More animals await discovery, but I’ll leave them for you to find.

Throughout all of this are places to sit and relax, some in the open, others at the townside cafes or in the Koi house, and one neatly tucked away under a hill that might be missed by the hasty. Needless to say, there are also numerous opportunities for photography.

Finished with a gentle sound-scape, LANA adds-up to an engaging visit rich in detail without feeling crowded, with room to explore without feeling you’re constantly bumping into others.

SLurl Details

• LANA (rated Moderate)

September has arrived and with it, thoughts in the northern hemisphere are once more turning to the Autumn, a fact reflected in the gradual seasonal change being witnessed across many public regions within Second Life. Given autumnal themes are now on the ascendant in-world, I decided to hop along to a double-header of regions that sit firmly rooted in the tropics and a world of Sun, sand and sea.

One Summer and Saltwater are a part of interconnected Homestead regions that share a continuous theme throughout: that of a group of rocky islands, an archipelago possibly created more by natural water erosion rather than having anything volcanic in their origins (although some of the rock formations making up the islands could easily be seen as having volcanic origins).

The regions sit in an east-west orientation, a meandering channel of water almost dividing them one from the other. “Almost” because a broad sand bar cuts cross the water at their southern extremes, providing a natural bridge between the two, although it is one that might not always be there. Dotted by shallow pools watched over by pelican and heron alike, all doubtless looking out for any snacks caught within the waters, the causeway has the look of being tidal in nature, and prone to vanishing as the latter returns.

The work of Krys Vita, her SL partner Tre (TreMeldazis), the two regions have individual landing points (which can be found jointly at the end of this article, rather than embedded within it), thus allowing for individual visits. However, to fully appreciate them, I’d suggest making the time to visit them side-by-side. They are also regions where donations are welcome – but not for their upkeep: funds are accepted by RFL kiosks located on the back of the signs for each region, allowing them to support the American Cancer Society’s off-season fund-raising in Second life.

Of the two regions, One Summer is probably the easier to explore simply because its various islands (and saltwater swamp, the sandy floor of which also appears to have been exposed by the low tide) are connected by bridges and boardwalks. These provide the means to pass over the waters separating the island and reach the grassy trails winding around and over them and thus reach various points of interest. The latter range from small places to sit and relax through to the large beachfront spa located on the western side of the region.

Across the water / causeway, Saltwater offers a more diverse – if a little harder to get around – setting. Here the islands are fewer in number, and the larger two are somewhat sinuous in nature and without bridges connect them. The waters of Saltwater are also broader in nature – and given the extensive moorings and pier-built workshops, warehouses and café found to the region’s eastern extremes, deeper than those found within One Summer. Certainly, the piers are home to a number of vessels, including a deep keeled sailing boat and sports fishing cruiser, and more sail boats are anchored in a little bay nestled mid-way along the the sinuous island than forms one end of the causeway linking Saltwater to One Summer.

I didn’t spot any boat rezzers or similar in bouncing and camming around Saltwater (which is not to say they aren’t there; fallible me is fallible me), so getting to / from the southern island and the causeway connecting it to One Summer and the other islands in the Saltwater group appears to be a case of flapping your arms or camming to a convenient chair and sitting in it. However, the island with the region’s landing point is connected to the sand bar east of it by way of a low board walk, and a further board walk connects sand bar to the piers and moorings, thus making exploration on foot and between them possible.

The local environments for the two regions aren’t quite in sync – whilst similar, the Sun does go for a brief walk across several degrees of sky on crossing between them -, and I did find myself bouncing off of the odd plant here and there as well as being able to walk on the water at one point (all in One Summer). But while these elements made for interesting distractions, they didn’t in any way spoil my visit. As seen in the photos here, as well, both regions lend themselves to environment settings other than their own.

Finished with a matching sound scape and, as already noted, offering the opportunity to support ACS / RFL of SL, One Summer and Salt Water make for an idyllic tropical visit.

With thanks to Shawn Shakespeare for the nod to Saltwater.

SLurl Details

• One Summer (rated: Moderate)
• Saltwater (rated: Adult)