It’s been more than a year since my last expedition and I’ve been thinking about those experiences.

The inspiration for my original expeditions was a curiosity about the mainland continents. I wanted to know, what is really out there on those continents? And my ten expeditions into the Sansara gave me a good sense of what that continent is about. I haven’t forgotten about the seemingly endless plots of mindless creations. And I haven’t forgotten the mischief, abandoned junk and ad-farms that seemed to pollute every sim. Btw, it appears that the Lindens have acknowledged the destructive nature of that kind of ugliness, they said as much in recent policies changes. Ad-farms in particular, appear to be on the way out with the Land Cutting Policy.

The six mainland continents.

I don’t regret the time I spent exploring Sansara, but I wish I had kept a directory of the great finds I made; for example, Natalia Zelmanov created a Travel Guide in her Mermaid Diaries blog. I’ve been thinking of using my expedition notes to rediscover some of the places which left an impression on me, then creating my own guide. This might be where I begin my next series of expeditions in fact.

If you followed my expeditions last year, you know that I questioned my approach even then. The main thing that drives me is this curiosity to see for myself. However, the practical realities of exploring can’t be ignored. When I started exploring I assumed that the then five mainland continents were comprised of a few thousand sims. That seemed to be a lot at the time, because I was sort of topping out at ten sims per expedition. Keep in mind, there is no problem with exploring, the problem is keeping notes and photographing discoveries.

The point is, if you intend to do extensive exploring, especially if you write about your adventures, you need to have a plan. Even if there are only a few thousand sims in the mainlands, you will end up spending countless hours. In the past, I was more of a free spirit wandering the land, looking to see what’s over the next hill. This time I’m considering using tools, like Natalia’s guide to help narrow my focus. Also I joined The Explorer’s group at Second Life Bloggers. Not sure what to expect, but I will checkout how other explorers are approaching the tasks.

Most of us in Second Life are explorers whether or not we make a concerted effort to explore, or even recognize that we are exploring. I enjoy being an explorer and recognize there’s a special freedom (from physical danger) for women here in SL, that doesn’t always exist in the real world. Regardless of what my plan will be, I’m feeling that urge to hit the road. I can almost hear Willie Nelson singing, “On the road again…”.