Dorena Forever !

 Our two destinations this week took us to places of great historical significance in the history of opensim, now reaching well into its second decade. Grids and projects, residents and regions have all come and gone over these many years, and the virtual is often dismissed as temporary - a fad, a transient pastime. But our stops on this Safari prove that the situation is to a large extent otherwise. Through the vicissitudes of  code and server reliability, in the face of drama and data loss, some regions and their residents have endured and flourished.

This week we celebrated with Dorena her birthday which is just a week or so separated from the 'birthday' of the Germán grid that bears her name. Anachron Young invited us to a party on a spot full of meaning for the grid -the original sim where the whole adventure began!.

Dorena1 Verne: nice to see you:-)

Loru Destiny: Hello welcome Safarians :-)

James Atlloud: 32 avatars!  wow

Crazy Like A Foxx

Foxx Bode: hi all. Welcome at Red Dragon estate, This region is old and a tad "primmy" so give it some time to load, and zoom around :)

Red Dragon - Foxx's home on OSGrid

Star Ravenhurst: This build is AMAZING!! I just cammed out!

Rural Ruritania Rules!

'You're a good fellow. Oh, you're English, but you're a good fellow.'

Anthony Hope, The Prisoner of Zenda

Xi Shi's rural Ruritania build was our second stop on Safari this week, it's located on Littlefield Grid and although rich with scripted gems all over, was really easy to rez on. Our point of arrival was the glorious green cricket pitch, where Xi and some of her closest friends were there to meet us. Address, as always, at the end of the post.

Dozens of movies, and numerous talking figures to help you guess just which screen gem is being hinted at in the form of tableaux and vignettes spread around this lovely sim. Add an impressive train line, some delicately beautiful mesh architecture, and you have a region fit for royalty. In the usual spirit of our Safari trips, this is not an exhaustive tour of every single feature, but a glimpse - after all, the point is that we all visit these delightful venues again, and often. That's our goal.

For simplicity's sake, the included NPC dialogue throughout this article is shown in italics.

postman: pedals off sharpish before the bus comes

Road-roller driver: Eh watch out for crazy drivers 'ere! I just had a fellow tear away from me and nearly 'it the bus after 'e stopped and asked where a bloke could 'ave some fun in this place. I just pointed 'im to the 'arbour and off he went like shite from a shovel !! Loony bugger

Xi Shi: I think I might have to translate some of that for a few

Alan Scot: *-* YeSS! *-*  whats a shovel ? ( kidding)

Tina Bey: hola a todos

Xi Shi: oh my, all at once... ok who's batting first?

Mal Burns: nicely mowed lawn!

chasty Slavicz: Hi Star and Jupiter. Ard, Mal, Frank, welcome

TeriMar Galuptra: Should we be wearing heels on the cricket pitch? It's worse than football boots...

Frank Gresham: cricket time

Ernest Moncrieff: We are the village green preservation society

Forest Azure: i have no idea how cricket goes

Cosi Dumont: nor have i ... i only know its very british ... haha

Jupiter Rowland: Landing on a cricket ground like a Chesterfield sofa...

Alan Scot: that model airplane never crashes

Xi Shi: I'm hoping that wont change either!

Zadijah Ahmed: it is time!!!!!

Big Fun in Little Wales

The Belgian treat Speculoos is a sweet cookie, the name being derived from the Latin for 'mirror' referring to the way each cookie mirrors the shape and pattern of the wooden biscuit molds used to make them. In virtual worlds, Speculoos is a grid with Belgian roots and a long history, and it's home to Susannah Avonside, and a lovely build reflecting her native Wales. 

Apologies for the photos, turns out upgrading Firestorm was a bad idea - no big shock there.Susannah Avonside: Welcome! this is the second iteration of my build here, if you'd like an impression of what the previous build was like you can find an interview Thirza did with me some 11 years ago now on her blog. Those of you with avatars taller than 2m might find it difficult to enter the buildings, so it's a case of shrink, or do a lot of camming

Ange Menges: You are building all that alone Susannah ?

Susannah Avonside: yes, I do all my own building, this is just one of my projects, I have several on the go at the moment in OSGrid

Lavia Lavine: That's awesome Susannah, Well done

Ieko and the Never Ending Circus

A couple of weeks ago the Safari visited the sim of Ieko Catnap aka Ieko Logic, on grid Barefoot Dreamers. The region has an unusual name, and a very beautiful appearance. Ieko was kind enough to share some thoughts about her creativity with the group, here's what she said.

ieko Logic (fr -> en): "Never Ending Story" is my romantic version of a plot of land of different styles gathered around a Provencal village (South of the France), including a market, a café, a circus and some adapted buildings. 

 ieko Logic (fr -> en): Everything was built as and when I found myself keeping the initial state of mind.   Let's start with the market. There is a girl who watered her birthday too much yesterday in the tower

Seaside Safari

Ernest Moncrieff: very 'hygge' here

This week's trip took us to a pair of maritime sims, first the bright  and beautiful city of Tromso, Norway, on CCI grid, then to Alanna, a boating venue on Craft Grid. HG Addresses, as usual, at the end of the post. 

SIWAS S: Welcome to Norge, I hope you will enjoy the stay

Beth Ghostraven: thanks SIWAS!

Ard Rhys: Hi Siwas

Angelic Kisses: Thank you

SoA BAD: welcome all

Cute Tunes on Winxtropia

It was our second stop of the Safari, and we had experienced a bit of lag earlier in the day. Luckily, that didn't stop the group from powering through, and not one among them regrets sticking with the adventure - indeed, quite the reverse. Our second stop brought us in contact with something unique and beautiful and we all felt privileged to be there, to experience it. The message came up - "You are now at Crescent Melody, Instrument Testing (150, 128, 21)"

Forest Azure: phew :)

Boujee Gamergirl: Hi Welcome

Star Ravenhurst: тμαηк чøυ ѕσσ мυ¢н【ツ】☺