Island Hopping in Paris

Come summertime, Parisians attempt to make their escape to the countryside or to the beach as often as possible at weekends until they quit the city entirely for their god-given month-long holiday in August. Sparing a thought for anyone stuck in the city during an unexpected heatwave, I have a few ideas for faking a…

The Vault

The Ghosts of Contadora Island, Panama’s Forgotten Pearl

I‘ve met Panamanians who talk about Contadora Island as if it were a relative they lost, like a favourite uncle from childhood they adored. I spoke to a Dutch ex-pat sailor who is convinced there is a curse over Panama’s Pearl islands. “There’s always something mysterious that happens to big resorts on these islands. They never last. Take that huge…

Pssst! You've stumbled across content that is exclusive to Nessy's Keyholders.

There’s a new way to access the really special stuff from Messy Nessy Chic …

Hidden beneath the surface layers of the internet, there’s a place where we keep our most secret addresses, untapped archives, creator’s inspiration, collector’s guides, explorer’s manuals, obscure research and much more… And it’s made for our keyholders only!

Apply now to unlock the Vault

Keyholder Login

The Abandoned Holiday Villas of the Pablo Escobar Empire

When Mr. Escobar wasn’t bombing commercial airlines carrying over a hundred innocent passengers to eliminate one of his enemies on board, spending $2,500 a month worth of rubber bands to wrap up his billions in cash, offering to pay off Colombia’s national debt or engaging in gunfights with Colombian police squads, Pablo liked to kick…

Forget Venice, Float over to its Technicolor Island Neighbour

It’s easy to forget that Venice isn’t the only magical, slightly weird water world around. The Venetian lagoon is home to more than 30 other inhabited islands, one of which is Burano. The stuff of dreams, prettier than a Greek island, ‘charming’ wouldn’t even begin to cover it. An hour’s boat ride on the public water…

The Dark Secrets of a Tiny Tropical Island Occupied by Descendants of Pirates

There’s a paradise island in the Pacific Ocean that no one wants to live on. Food and water is plentiful, the land is fertile, it’s surrounded by the most pristine ocean habitat in the world, and yet a potential extinction of the island’s current population (primarily direct descendants of pirates who shipwrecked themselves here 200 years ago)…

Floating Utopia: An Artist’s Remote Waterworld

Some people might just be a little bit more creative than others when it comes to breaking away from mainstream society. Wayne Adams and his wife Catherine King decided to make their own utopia a floating one, tucked into an inlet of the Clayoqout Sound off Vancouver Island, an hour upstream from the closest town. And as…

Living like a Castaway on the San Blas Islands

Our boat awaited us on the other side of the jungle. We didn’t know it yet, but the 4am wake-up call, the roller coaster ride through the Guna mountains and a thrashing from the sea on a tiny boat would be all worth it to reach the San Blas Islands… The dock consists of a few sticks and…

This is what Leonardo DiCaprio’s Private Uninhabited Island Looks like

Ten years ago, Leonardo DiCaprio bought an island in Belize with plans to build the world’s first eco-restorative resort that would “restore” the over-fished waters, eroding coastline and deforestation. The island is called Blackadore Caye. Leo discovered it while vacationing on a nearby resort in 2004. Fishermen would use this island to manage their catches and chop…

Buried by Nature: The Dark Colonial Past of Jungle Book Island

It has become one with the jungle since the last human inhabitants abandoned its shores in World War II. Ross Island, or as I’ve come to call it, “Jungle Book Island”, was once referred to as the “Paris of the East”, for its opulent architecture and exciting social life amidst the unlikely setting of a tropical island…

Check out the Private Portable Islands Christie’s are Now Selling

It’s the kind of scenario that comes straight out of a science-fiction movie set in the future, where the polar ice caps have melted and everyone is living on manmade islands drifting in the ocean, sailing the Earth. But of course for the 1%, their apocalyptic “Waterworld” looks a little more 5 star… No longer just a…