Tag: Calas Galadhon

A Calas Christmas Dream in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
A Christmas Dream – Calas Christmas 2020

Officially opening to the public on Wednesday, December 2nd – although you can enjoy a sneak peek ahead of that by joining the Calas Galadhon in-world group – is A Christmas Dream, the 2020 Calas Galadhon Christmas region put together by Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith, ably assisted by the Calas team.

The Calas Christmas events are now as traditional a part of the end-of-year festivities as turkey dinner and decorated trees, and each year Ty, Truck and team never fail to present an environment that even the most “bah, humbug!” amongst us cannot fail to appreciate and enjoy – and 2020 is no exception, although circumstance means this year things are a tiny bit different from recent Calas Christmases, at Ty noted to me ahead of the opening.

It’s been more of a challenge this year with all going on out there in the real world, but we did want to do another Christmas. Things being what they are [limited region availability and all], we were only able to rent one region this year. But we hope it will lighten the spirit and heart in our visitors.

Ty Tenk, discussing A Christmas Dream

A Christmas Dream – Calas Christmas 2020

The fact that this year’s Calas Christmas is restricted to the one region actually offers a glimpse back to Calas Christmases of times past, before Ty and Truck took to utilising two regions for their winter celebrations. This gives this year’s setting something of a nostalgic feel for those of us who have been enjoying their seasonal hospitality for the last several years.

Perhaps more importantly, whilst limited to just the one region, this year’s setting has lost none of its appeal, both in terms of things to see and things to do, and most of the expected aspects of a Calas Christmas are present: the main landing point with its sleigh tours; the walks and the skating; the Pavilion where events will be taking place through the month; the balloon tour; the places to sit and cosy-up or dance, both indoors, and more.

A Christmas Dream – Calas Christmas 2020

Also waiting to be found are the little touches that make each Calas Christmas so endearing. Wander the snow near the frozen lake, for example, and you will discover that – just for Christmas, at least – a penguin not only has Happy Feet but can fly (or at least take to the air and hover!), whilst a walk further afield might yeti allow you to discover a mythical creature (and yes, I do appreciate he’s is not actually an Abominable Snowman, but I’ll do (almost) anything for a pun, however bad!).

Meanwhile, for those who find the snow and crisp air a little too much hot chocolate can be had from the Calas refreshment stand (watched over by a reindeer) or romantic meal can be enjoyed at the Calas railway carriage. Or, for those who enjoy the winter air and you have a wearable horse, riding is welcomed – although please do keep off the ice, as the presence of a horse might cause problems for the skaters.

A Christmas Dream – Calas Christmas 2020

Entertainment will, as always, be presented presented at the Pavilion – for dates and times, refer to the Calas Galadhon blog once A Christmas Dream is fully open to the public.

The Calas Christmas regions are always a popular destination, so when visiting, please do consider the following:

  • To help lighten the load on resources, it is requested that active scripts are kept below 100Kb. So please, do remove unnecessary HUDs and accessories.
  • Often the heaviest load placed on the viewer is that of heavily-loaded avatars, so p;ease do try to dress accordingly to try to minimise not only your script load, but also your texture load (e.g. by avoiding items that contain multiple unique high-resolution textures).

Also, keep in mind that because the region might be popular, you may want to make adjustment to your viewer for your own enjoyment – reduce the maximum number of fully-rendered avatars, adjust shadows, and perhaps turn off shadow rendering, if used (other than for photography).

But above all, enjoy your visit!

A Christmas Dream – Calas Christmas 2020

SLurl Details

Note that Sincere Estates is rated Moderate.

Villa Eirini at Calas Galadhon in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Villa Eirini, Calas Galadhon, February 2020 – click any image for full size

Calas Galadhon is one of the gems of Second Life – and somewhere we always enjoy visiting. Designed and operated by Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith, together with their team of volunteers, this 13-region park offers something for everyone: wide open spaces to enjoy on foot or via horseback – those with wearable horses can use their own, while there are horse rezzers to be found around the park; there are opportunities for boating, balloon rides, dancing (including at events at the park’s various locations), and much more.

February 2020 saw the addition of a new attraction to the park: Villa Eirini, and as with everything else at Calas, it is a delight to visit, and offers a lot to be enjoyed and appreciated.

Villa Eirini, Calas Galadhon, February 2020

The villa is located on the Bay of Bel, part of the park’s extensive waterways, which extend from Eriador and Erebor in the west (and which are home to the Calas holiday settings at the end of each year, as well as being home to the stunning recreation of Santorini that made a return to Calas in 2019 – see The return of Calas’ Santorini in Second Life), to progress east and north to Long Lake (although they may not be fully navigable by boats due to the low bridges bordering the bay). This affords the villa extensive over-the-water views that – providing you can pump up the viewer draw distance sufficiently – offer stunning vistas from the villa and its immediate surroundings, with the view back to Santorini perfectly framing the architecture of the villa.

Sitting within low walled grounds, the villa is fully and delightfully furnished to offer a place where people can relax, chat and dance, either indoors or out on the terrace that looks eastwards to Santorini and the open-air events venue that sits on the far side of the bay with its flooded gardens and ancient ruins.

Villa Eirini, Calas Galadhon, February 2020

A flat table of rock rises immediately to the south side of the villa, coming close enough to almost touch it. With its top reached via spiral stair from the terrace and connecting walkway from the villa’s upper floor, it is home to a secluded and welcoming Zen garden constructed using Alex Bader’s excellent building set (which I’ve coincidentally used at Isla Pey – see Bringing a little (Studio Skye) Zen to your SL garden).

The eastern end of the villa’s island offers a small circle of sand and a causeway linking it to the fens of Belgaer, from which rises the equally welcoming Two Loons waterside café, another addition to the park Ty and Truck added in 2019 (see: The Two Loons in Second Life). The causeway actually forms part of the Calas riding trail, which skirts around the villa to continue north-east over a second causeway to reach the shores of Santorini, before doubling back north and west over natural rock arches across the waters of the bay to reach the headlands of Grey Havens and, beyond them, Armenelos and Long Lake.

Villa Eirini, Calas Galadhon February 2020

We first rode this trail back in 2017, just after it opened (see: A little (Bento) horse riding at Calas Galadhon in Second Life), and places like Santorini and now the Villa Eirnini make it an even more attractive and worthwhile ride today. While the trail does pass the villa, there doesn’t appear to be a horse rezzer close by, so those using the Calas horses to explore and who opt to dismount to spend time at the villa may have to continue their travels on foot.

If walking isn’t to your liking, a pier on the north side of the island offers a couple of boat rezzers. The first will, when touched, present you with a pontoon boat capable of carrying up to 6; the second (and by way of a colour picker dialogue) will present a 2-seat paddle boat. Note that the “driver” *must* select the seat farthest from the pier and sit first / stand last to avoid the boat being unexpectedly derezzed.

Villa Eirini, Calas Galadhon, February 2020

Boat niggles aside, Villa Eirini forms another superb addition to Calas Galadhon and makes for a perfect place in which to spend time and relax.

SLurl Details

All Calas Galadhon regions are rated Moderate.

The return of Calas’ Santorini in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

New Santorini; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrNew Santorini, June 2019 – click any image for full size

Once upon a time within the Calas Galadhon park regions lay a tribute to Santorini, the largest island of an archipelago in the southern Aegean Sea. Officially called Thira (Thera in classic Greek), the island is world-renowned for the brilliant, white-washed walls of its buildings – most keenly, perhaps, exemplified by photographs of the principal city, Fira.

Obviously scaled-down, the Calas tribute to Santorini was nevertheless a marvellous build. So, when in 2014, Ty Tenk and Truck Meredith, owners of the Calas park regions, announced the Santorini build would be closing at the end of  that year (see A farewell to Santorini, December 2014), the news was greeted with disappointment among Calas Galadhon fans – myself among them.

New Santorini; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrNew Santorini, June 2019 –

However, in April 2019, Tapped me with a photo of him standing in one of the Santorini terraces looking up at the distinctive houses and with the comment, “Just thought you’d enjoy seeing what we are working on 🙂 still a big secret but I know you loved the original ..all mesh 🙂 “. To say I was excited would be an understatement.

The new build – called, appropriately enough, New Santorini – was unveiled by invitation only on May 25th, 2019 – and Caitlyn and I were fortunate enough to be along those invited, although we were like all the guests, asked to keep quiet about what we saw until after the public unveiling, which took place on the weekend of June 1st / 2nd, 2019.

New Santorini; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrNew Santorini, June 2019 –

Located on the Calas “holiday regions” of Eriador and Erebor, New Santorini recaptures almost everything from the original (although the waterfront café / events area has been replaced by a new open-air events area called Phoenix, sitting across the water from the main build, and within Erebor (Santorini itself lies within Eriador). However, being mesh and finely designed and implemented New Santorini offers much for explorers to discover both within its whitewashed walls and on and under the surrounding waters.

The landing point lies off to the east side of the region, within a semi-submerged cave. Follow the signs, and you’ll be led from this cave to a watery footpath that will present you with your first view of Santorini and the new events area (you may have to pump your draw distance up to see both, if your computer can handle things). This paths passes the gateway and steps leading down to the submerged gardens of Thera – an attraction in their own right, and again seeing a happy return (with a few revisions) as an ideal for merfolk to enjoy – although folk with legs are free to explore them as well.

New Santorini; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrNew Santorini, June 2019 –

The town offers a lot to see: terraces offer places to sit and to dance, stairs climb between houses and buildings, plants offer bright bursts of colour and cafés beckon the weary. Around the base of the main island and on the surrounding islets are hints of a much older civilisation, echoing Minoan Thera. Some of these are best seen from the automated boat tour around the islands that starts at the Santorini end of the long, low causeway linking the island with the Phoenix events area.

One aspect of the town that should not be missed is the updated interiors of many of the houses. These represent a fine mix of different historical / cultural styles that are a complete delight to see, each one decorated, I understand, by Truck.

New Santorini; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrNew Santorini, June 2019 –

Just how long new Santorini will remain is uncertain, and Ty candidly informed me.

We weren’t sure how we were going to show it off. We wanted it to be a special build, but we weren’t sure people would let us pack it up! But these are the regions we use for the holidays and our other special builds … although [as] both [Erebor and Eriador] are full regions now, we could put our special sky builds above where we have the [Phoenix] venue now. I’ve kept scripts down on Erebor to make room for builds above, so we’re still mulling it over.

– Ty Tenk on the new Santorini build and the future

However, the fact that it is back is a cause for celebration, and if you never got to see the original build (first built back in the days when prims were everything), then I cannot recommend finding the time to partake an excursion to New Santorini enough.

New Santorini; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrNew Santorini, June 2019 –

As it is, Phoenix will be the focus for all of the planned Calas musical events through June. These start on Sunday, June 2nd, at 14:00 SLT with Samm Qendra, and will include Reggie Sunset, Savannah Rain, Djembe Dragonfire, Voodoo Shilton, Antonio Galloway and Chapman Zane. There will also be two special themed FlyGearz events in June – Toga & Greek Mythology and Pirates. To stay informed of all Calas Galadhon events, be sure to check out the Calas Galadhon website and the Calas in-world group.

SLurl Details

The mystery of Calas Galadhon’s MAZE in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Calas Galadhon MAZE; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrCalas Galadhon MAZE – click any image for full size

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2018 saw the public opening of the 2018 Calas Galadhon Halloween tour, and once again it is a stunning setting – possibly the best that Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith and their Calas team have created.

Covering two regions, the Calas Galadhon MAZE is a stunning setting designed to lead visitors on a journey of exploration.

Calas Galadhon MAZE; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrCalas Galadhon MAZE

Decades ago a group of explorers woke to find themselves in the middle of a large seemingly impenetrable Maze … They set-up a base camp with supplies that had been left for them. In time, a group set out to explore what lay beyond and [find] a way out.

They never returned.

The remaining few, when supplies ran out and with no way to gather more, eventually perished. 

– Introduction to Calas Galadon MAZE

Calas Galadhon MAZE; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrCalas Galadhon MAZE

Visitors arrive at the setting in an underground location, where they’ll find the introduction and a few helpful hints. Visits are best enjoyed using the region windlight setting, which is suitably dark, and the adventure begins at ground level. This is reached via an elevator or stairways. From here it is a short walk to the base camp – by way of a station where survival backpacks, torches  and helmets can be obtained for those wanting to get fully into the spirit of exploration and discovery.

I don’t what to go into specifics of the maze itself, that would be to spoil explorations. However, I will say that things are laid out in such a way as to keep visitors engaged for a considerable amount of time – and rightly so. As the notes in the regions indicate, a good place to start is to take the boat ride from close to the base camp.

Calas Galadhon MAZE; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrCalas Galadhon MAZE

This will take you on a journey around the ground-level areas of the regions and present you with the opportunity to see some of the places you’ll be exploring on foot  – and some places you otherwise might not see.

The boat tour follows waterways running through both regions before running explorers to the base camp and the opportunity to start their explorations on foot. A footbridge offer the way to the first part of the maze – which is literally that, a maze running through towering walls and with hidden surprises. It’s not difficult to get through, but it does provide access to the rest of the mysteries that might be found.

Calas Galadhon MAZE; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrCalas Galadhon MAZE

And that’s as far as I’m going to comment on the regions – other than to say that things don’t just exist on the ground. In keeping with past Calas Galadon seasonal designs, there are also places to be explored in the sky as well – and I will say that I found these particularly enjoyable and put together the care and eye for details that made Ty and Truck’s designs engaging and fun to explore.

Calas Galadhon MAZE will remain open throughout October in order to allow people to enjoy the Halloween season at their leisure. There is a lot to see and enjoy, so when planning a visit make sure you allow plenty of time to explore and appreciate – and keep an eye on the Calas blog for details of special events that may be taking place within the regions while they are open.

Calas Galadhon MAZE; Inara Pey, October 2018, on FlickrCalas Galadhon MAZE

SLurl Details

A little (Bento) horse riding at Calas Galadhon in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Out on the Calas horse trails, Caitlyn leading the way

I’m not a horse owner, but riding is something I’ve had the good fortunate to enjoy from time to time, and on both sides of the Atlantic. It’s also something I’ve occasionally enjoyed in Second Life, although I’m now long past the point, land-wise, where keeping a horse in-world makes a lot of sense. So, in the latter regard, my riding enjoyment is restricted to taking the opportunity in those regions where riding options are offered.

One such location is Calas Galadhon Park, which offers for Teegle and Breeder’s Choice horses and, since March of 2017, the Water Horse Bento horse. Although Ty Tenk of Calas dropped me a line about the Bento horses when they were added, we weren’t in a position to try things then, and to be honest, it just slipped my mind). However, the news that there’s a new Coast Trail for horse riding through the Calas regions gave Caitlyn and I just the excuse to hop over and try things out.

The Water Horse Bento horse makes for a very natural feeling ride, while the Coast Trail at Calas still takes you through the redwood forest

The new Coast Trail forms a circular route around several of the Calas regions. It nominally starts at the bridge linking Dimirill Dale to Calas Galadhon, then runs around the lake at Calas Galadhon and up through the redwood forest of Mirromere, before curving around the cliffs of the Misty Mountains and dropping down into the islands of Long Lake. From there it arcs down through Belegear, touches the Grey Havens, and so returns to Dimrill Dale. Along the way, it offers some stunning views over the Calas park lands and waters.

As we were commencing our ride further south, at the Bento horse giver in Glanduin, (another horse giver can be found at Mirromere), Caitlyn and I opted to start our ride from there – and do things “backwards”, looping up through Dimrill Dale to Belegear, and then swinging through Long Lake and down through the Misty Mountains and Mirromere, to reach Calas Galadhon.

The Coast Ride takes you through the wilds of Calas Galadhon Park, and past some of its picturesque landmarks, such as the Greek Village, a reminder of “old Armenelos”

The Water Horse giver is easy to use, with the instructions clearly visible on the sign. Follow them, and you really can’t go wrong. The supplied horse is provided as a temp attachment (so nothing in your inventory), and is a demo version with about an hour’s duration, after which it will be removed / deleted. As it is a demo version, I can’t offer a comprehensive review  of it here; but what I can say is that as a Bento extension to the avatar skeleton, the horse handles very naturally (just remember to turn off your AO!), and you do get the four motion speeds – walk, trot, canter and gallop. Given the lay of the land at Calas, there are plenty of opportunities to try all of them.

Being a demo with an hour’s duration, the horse provided by the giver isn’t as fully featured as the actual Water Horse Bento horses, so I can’t offer a review here. What I can say, however, is that it is more than enough to give you a basic feel for riding the horse, and to demonstrate just how well the horse works as an extension to your avatar. You do get the four speed options – walk, trot, canter and gallop, and the Calas trails provide plenty of places where each can be tired.

Trotting across a bridge

The trails through Calas are a joy to ride – whichever horse system you have / use – and are fairly clearly signposted throughout. As the newest, the  Coast Trail is beautifully picturesque, particularly if you tackle it clockwise, as we did. To do this, follow the track up from the horse giver and through the farm and across the covered bridge. Then follow the trail under the rock arch, and then bear left before the next bridge, following the water’s edge westwards towards the Grey Heavens, and over the marshes to Belegear’s slender peninsula.

Going around the trail this way really opens out the park’s fabulous beauty from the start, leaving the lakeside buildings of Calas Galadhon itself until last, where a well-deserved drink can be had. The hour-long duration of the demo Water Horse means there is plenty of time to take the trail without having to unduly hurry.

Resting in the saddle near the cliffs of the Misty Mountains

I’ve always enjoyed Calas Galadhon, whether on horseback or foot, and the new Coast Trail is a delight, bringing home the natural beauty of the parklands, whether riding a Bento horse or any other horse type available from the rezzers in the regions (and if you’re a member of the Calas group, yo can always hop along and ride your own, if you haven’t already).

My only regret with our little foray is that as my video software still isn’t playing nice with the viewer at times, leaving me unable to record our meanderings. Fortunately, Ty made this point moot, having produced his own video highlighting both the Water Horse Bento horse and the riding trails of Calas. So I’ll leave you with that instead 🙂 .

SLurls and Links

All Calas Galadhon regions are rated Moderate.

Visiting spooky Neverland in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Neverland - Calas Galadhon Halloween
Neverland – Calas Galadhon Halloween

Once again we are entering the twilight months of the year when the celebrations start to stack up: Halloween, Thanksgiving for Canada and America, Christmas and then the New Year. With so much going on, and themed regions popping up across Second Life, a real highlight of this time of year is a visit to the Calas Galadhon themed builds.

Every October and December, Ty Tenk and Truck Meredith bring us fabulous themed builds under the Calas Galadhon name, which allow Second Life users to fully enjoy both Halloween scares and Christmas good cheer. And this year, we have something very special: not one, but two regions offering a spook-tacular visit for Halloween.

Neverland - Calas Galadhon Halloween
Neverland – Calas Galadhon Halloween

Neverland takes its name from J. M. Barrie‘s Peter Pan and gives it a decidedly dark twist. Yes, there are pirates, Lost Boys, fairies and mermaids, but so too are there spiders, alien-esque jungles, imps, and creepy caves, all wrapped up in a journey of discovery. Spread across the full and Homestead sims of Esgaroth and Erebor – the names continuing the Tolkien tradition of naming Calas regions – Neverland is a place to be experienced, not written about; but you will need time to do so, as there is a lot to discover – more than might first appear to be the case – and an expansive tour aboard an elven boat to enjoy.

As is common with Ty and Truck’s builds, the landing point offers plenty of advice to get you started, and the information boards should be read. You can pick up a torch here as well, which may prove useful in your explorations, and the boat tour is sited alongside the boards. Whether you take the tour first or come back later is up to you – but I do recommend you do take it at some point during a visit, as it will reveal sights and places you might otherwise miss.

Neverland - Calas Galadhon Halloween
Neverland – Calas Galadhon Halloween

Travelling on foot takes you through the Pirate Cavern – complete with the steady tick-tick-ticking of a clock, the shadowy form of an enormous crocodile close by – and then through a dimly-lit tunnel where creepy-crawlies lurk, before pointing the way towards the jungle. Your goal here is to find the Portal, the gateway to the Calas Galadhon Halloween events pavilion (where a whole range of entertainment will be taking place throughout October). Signposts will help you along the way, be sure not to miss the other locations the signs direct you towards, be they up winding paths or ladders, over bridges or across fields of rustling grass. And don’t miss the tunnels under the Lost Boy’s camp (and the Lost Boys themselves aren’t quite what you might expect!

There are numerous places throughout Neverland where you can simply sit and catch your breath: camp fires can be found on the edges of gorges, nestled under rocky overhangs or close to the mouths of shallow caves, benches and seats at the sides of pools or under faery canopies. Ty and Truck’s impish humour is also awaiting discovery, while the Mermaid Grotto and the alien gardens surrounding it offer a burst of colour and light in the midst of the darkness and mist.

Neverland - Calas Galadhon Halloween
Neverland – Calas Galadhon Halloween

While instructions on how best to enjoy the build are available at the landing point, I will re-state some of them, and add one or two of my own. If you take the “journey cloths”, with their Cthulhu-like images, keep in mind you may well hop past places to visit – and when taking the boat tour, keep an eye our for clues to places that might otherwise escape a visit on foot later. Do make sure you have local sounds enabled with exploring (there’s also a carefully selected audio stream), and keep an eye out for ladders and bridges and stairs; not all of them may at first be obvious, and some lead to interesting little spots, such as up in the temple ruins.

If you run the viewer with shadows enabled, you may want to flick them off when exploring, otherwise the performance hit can be pretty heavy. The lighting in the region is such that disabling them won’t spoil the visual ambience (just keep Advanced Lighting Model enabled), and should you need shadows for photography, you can always flick them on and then set them back to None when done.

Neverland - Calas Galadhon Halloween
Neverland – Calas Galadhon Halloween

All told, Neverland is another marvellous gift to Second Life residents from Ty and Truck, one in which it a possible to spend an enjoyable hour or two exploring and discovering the various routes around and through the regions. It is very much a destination one which should be on the list of places to visit for anyone who enjoys Halloween – and do please consider a donation towards both the regions and Calas Galadhon as a whole when you drop in.

News on events at Neverland can be found on the Calas Galadhon Park blog, and the regions will be open through until the end of October, after which they will be closed to be made-over for the Calas Christmas theme.

Neverland - Calas Galadhon Halloween
Neverland – Calas Galadhon Halloween

SLurls and Bits