Frisland

The ancient and mysterious island of Frisland (or Frislandia) appears on a number of significant sixteenth-century maps, including those by Mercator and Ortelius, usually situated somewhere southwest of Iceland. It's a roughly rectangular island, and its inhabitants populate towns with names such as Campa and Ocibar, and indeed even the smaller islands around it were given names. Several current-day sleuths have even attempted to "find" Frisland, as if it were a real Atlantis.

In Second Life, you're lucky enough to be able to visit Frisland in person—it's a new sim created by Charlie Namiboo, Frislanda Ferraris (his real avatar name!) and Anabell Barzane. Originally scheduled to open on Sunday, March 30, the sim has opened today (Saturday), just as I post this—as Anna told me, "We can't wait any longer!" It's a delight for the eyes, with opportunities to wander and explore as well as plenty of outstanding places for photos. The gray-green Frisland consists two close-knit rural islands with a tiny stream running between them—the high rocky cliffs of the first island overlooking the more pastoral farmland of the second. Homes and buildings dot the landscape, and they're exquisitely furnished and decorated. Most of the exterior landscaping was designed by Frislanda, while Charlie and Anna concentrated on interior spaces.

As you wander you'll spot a greenhouse, a school with an inviting playground, a windmill, a home with smoke lazily drifting out of the chimneys, a chapel, and plenty of other spots—and inside the school you can take a look at one of those historic maps showing Frisland. You might wonder about the connection between the name of the place and the name of one of its creators: Frisland and Frislanda. Charlie explains, "A few weeks ago Frislanda did a search on Google about the origin of his name and found an article about a phantom island called 'Frisland' in the North Atlantic. He just asked us what we would think of creating a region in Second Life based upon the idea of that phantom island. We were all for it! And so we started the project with the working title 'Frisland's rebirth.'"

If you'd like to be able to rez items—it's a splendid place for a bicycle ride!—just join the Frisland group at the landing point. And if you enjoy your visit, please consider leaving a contribution—there are three donation pigs on the sim—one near the landing point, one in front of the school and one near a house. But in any case, enjoy your visit—as Charlie said to me, "This is our way to say thank you to the SL community that has shared so many beautiful places with us."