EN ROUTE TO THE CARIBBEAN · SINCE 1999
Some passions do not ask for much space. They settle somewhere between a memory and an old box, and wait. Every so often, a tune, a line of dialogue or the name of an island is enough to bring them back, wide awake.
That is what Monkey Island is like for me. For over thirty years it has occupied a place that no change of computer has managed to clear. I have changed habits, programs and plenty of passwords. On Mêlée, though, I would still know where to look for the bar. Finding my way around public offices takes rather more directions.
This site began on 11 March 1999 to give that passion a home. Somewhere to gather stories, images, walkthroughs and curiosities, and share the pleasure of an adventure that continued after the closing credits. There was the excitement of putting something online and imagining another fan, somewhere else, finding it and feeling at home.
Over the years, the site collected material, contributions and memories. Meanwhile, the web sailed other routes. Social media arrived, phones became the most ordinary way to browse, and some pages began to show their age. Affectionately, of course. But even an old galleon needs a few new planks if you want to sail it again.
The wish to update it began with a very simple question: why leave it all sitting there, when I still wanted to tell its story?
The redesign of 21 October 2026 begins with that wish. Reopening pages, rediscovering material, making it readable and accessible, fixing links and bringing order to what time had accumulated. Then trying new ideas, because returning to these islands gave me a few more.
I wanted to preserve traces of yesterday’s site and set new possibilities alongside them. A historical page can tell us who we were; an updated page can help today’s visitor find a way through. I like giving both room, with dates and context that make the difference clear.
This return is also very personal. Working again on a site opened in 1999 means meeting your old enthusiasm. You recognise certain choices, smile at others and discover that the desire to share is still there. Perhaps you have a little more patience now. Or at least you know to make a backup before experimenting.
I hope those who have known these pages for years find something familiar. And that newcomers can step inside without already knowing every character or remembering every reply in a duel. The curiosity of a first-time traveller deserves a place aboard too.
I do not know where this next stretch of sailing will take us. I know I still enjoy searching, repairing, writing and imagining someone opening a page and smiling for the same reason I do.
After more than thirty years, Monkey Island still has that effect on me.
That is where the site starts again. The grog can wait: first, let’s check the barrel does not leak.
Alfnet