With over 1300 designs and a passion for storytelling through imagery, Alecse has traveled the world in search of scenes that stir the soul. Among his global creations, some destinations hold a special place in his heart. Here are six of the most original, personal, and visually striking locations he’s chosen to immortalize in his signature vintage travel poster style.
1. Okanda – Where Jungle, Rock and Ocean Meet (Sri Lanka)
Okanda lies on the remote eastern coast of Sri Lanka, nestled between the ancient Kudumbigala sanctuary and the outer edge of Kumana National Park. A site of pilgrimage for centuries, this rugged landscape holds deep spiritual resonance for many Sri Lankans. Alecse spent years living not far from here, in Arugam Bay, and would often venture inland to explore the sacred temples, the wildlife corridors, and the dramatic rock formations that overlook the Indian Ocean. One of the most breathtaking vantage points is from the top of Kudumbigala’s main stupa — a place where nature and spirituality seem to merge into a single horizon.
The Wave Hunter poster pays tribute to this unique environment. It captures the dynamic tension between land and sea, stone and spray, with a rich palette of mineral reds, aqua greens and misty whites. The surfer in the image — a tiny figure dwarfed by nature — is Alecse himself, drawn from a drone video taken during one of his sessions in the area. It’s not just a surfing scene; it’s a personal memory, an ode to the raw and poetic energy of the eastern coastline. The retro “Endless Summer” style lettering anchors the piece in a timeless dreamscape, while the overall mood evokes adventure, reverence, and the quiet power of wild places.
2. Mérida – Hacienda Santa Cruz and the Soul of the Yucatán (Mexico)
Alecse first discovered Mexico in the 1970s, traveling with his father through regions steeped in history — from the pyramids of Teotihuacan to the vibrant streets of Cuernavaca and the golden coastlines of Acapulco. Those early memories planted the seeds of a lifelong fascination. Years later, it was the Yucatán that captured his artistic imagination. From Isla Mujeres to Puerto Morelos, from Tulum to Mérida, this peninsula offered a more tropical, dreamlike Mexico — slower, softer, and steeped in Mayan and colonial heritage. Though he hasn’t returned as often as he would have liked, Mérida and its surrounding haciendas left a lasting impression. One estate in particular, Hacienda Santa Cruz, became a visual anchor in his memory — and eventually, a poster.
The Hacienda Santa Cruz vintage travel poster captures this unique mood. A long sun-drenched path, flanked by royal palms, leads toward a terracotta archway surrounded by flowering gardens. The composition evokes the slow rhythm of hacienda life — peaceful, grand, and anchored in timeless beauty. Alecse’s signature halftone render adds texture, while warm ochres and dusty pinks soften the scene with nostalgic charm. The subtle play of light and shadow gives the impression of a memory brought back from a sunlit siesta.
Fun fact: Hacienda Santa Cruz was originally built as a Franciscan monastery before becoming a working plantation. Today, it is both a boutique hotel and a living testimony to the region’s layered history. Alecse’s poster doesn’t just represent a building — it reflects a lifestyle and a dreamscape, where time stretches, and every corner tells a story. It’s a piece of Mexico that invites viewers to pause, breathe, and be transported.
Whether you’ve wandered its bougainvillea-lined corridors or simply dream of warm Yucatán afternoons, this Mexico wall art print is the perfect window into a world where colonial heritage meets artistic imagination.
3. Oualidia – The Authentic Moroccan Lagoon (Morocco)
There are places that resonate not just for their beauty, but for the feeling they awaken — and Oualidia is one of them. Tucked between El Jadida and Safi on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, this peaceful village stretches along a sheltered lagoon, protected from the ocean by a crescent of sand and rocky cliffs. Alecse visited Oualidia twice — thirty years apart — and was struck by how gracefully it had evolved. Though the village has grown, it has never lost its essence. It still holds the same quiet magic: a timeless rhythm, an authentic heart, and a subtle elegance that resists the fast pace of modern tourism.
One of the most cinematic features of Oualidia is the old royal palace overlooking the lagoon. Built in the mid-20th century as a seaside retreat for Sultan Mohammed V, the palace was once a symbol of refinement and isolation. But when Alecse first visited in the 1990s, it stood partly overgrown and seemingly forgotten — surrounded by silence, fig trees, and seabirds. Its arched colonnades and tiled courtyards, though worn, still carried the weight of grandeur. That contrast — between faded royalty and untouched nature — left a lasting impression, like stumbling upon a scene from a Moroccan Casablanca.
Alecse has long cherished Morocco: its culture, its artistry, its incredibly welcoming people, and, of course, its cuisine — rich in flavor and full of soul. And as a bonus, yes, you can surf here. Not in the lagoon, but just beyond it, on the ocean side, where the water is cooler and the coastline more rugged. There, waves break along a wild beach framed by small ochre cliffs where goats graze freely. It’s the kind of place where you can surf in the morning, eat grilled sardines for lunch, and watch flamingos dance in the shallows by evening.
The Oualidia vintage travel poster captures the tranquil sweep of the lagoon from above. Earthy pastels blend into aquamarine waters, and the palace sits subtly in the distance — more suggestion than centerpiece. With halftone textures and Alecse’s soft digital aquarelle style, the artwork evokes a quiet Moroccan dream, suspended in time. More than just a Morocco wall art print, it’s a tribute to a destination that has remained beautifully, defiantly itself.
4. Arambol – Sweet Lake, Goa’s Sanctuary That Still Feels Like a Secret
There are places that evolve, stretch, shift — and yet, a small part of them remains miraculously untouched. Alecse first discovered Arambol over two decades ago, when it was still a quiet, barefoot village on Goa’s northern fringe. Back then, nights were lit by candlelight, and the day unfolded to the rhythm of the waves, not the ping of a smartphone. He returned many times, most recently in November, and witnessed how much the town has grown — busier, louder, more connected. But somehow, Sweet Lake, just behind the main beach, has held onto its timeless magic.
Tucked between red cliffs and jungle paths, Sweet Lake is still only accessible by foot along the beach — though the path has been improved, it keeps casual crowds at bay. Despite the fact that one’s camera, music, books, and memories now all live in a single phone with a data connection, the place retains a sense of unplugged stillness. Alecse remembers early evenings by the water with his wife, reading by candlelight as frogs croaked in the bushes and bats flitted above. That quiet, that simplicity — it lingers here.
The Sweet Lake Goa vintage travel poster reflects this delicate balance. Rendered in warm tropical tones and soft textures, it shows a stretch of still water hugged by palm trees and bamboo huts, with boats pulled ashore like resting animals. The halftone finish and gentle blur give the piece a nostalgic, dreamlike quality — like a memory captured on sun-faded Kodachrome. It’s a visual meditation, both rooted in time and suspended outside it.
Fun fact: Just a short drive north of Arambol lies Fort Tiracol, one of Alecse’s favorite places in all of Goa. Perched on a cliff at the mouth of the Terekhol River, it offers panoramic views of the sea and horizon — and inspired one of his most cherished posters, a bold yet peaceful celebration of India’s coastal history.
This Goa art print is more than décor — it’s a doorway into a slower way of being, a pocket of calm where time, for once, doesn’t rush ahead.
5. Hampi – The Sacred Ruins of Southern India
Some places feel like dreams sculpted in stone — vast, surreal, and somehow outside the bounds of time. That’s how Alecse experienced Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site nestled in Karnataka’s arid interior, visited during his honeymoon across South India. Once the glittering capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, Hampi is the result of centuries of dynasties building, destroying, and rebuilding palaces, temples, markets and fortresses across the boulder-strewn plains of the Tungabhadra River. Often referred to as the Angkor Wat of Southern India, it is both a spiritual center and an open-air archaeological marvel.
The sheer scale of Hampi is staggering — not just in size, but in emotional and symbolic weight. Alecse was there during Holi, the Festival of Colors, adding another layer of wonder. As crowds danced and laughed beneath ancient archways, the stones themselves seemed to glow under the vibrant powders. But what truly marked him was the light: how the sky could shift in less than an hour from crystalline blue to brooding anthracite grey, casting golden beams that lit the ochre earth and made the palm trees and temple stones pulse with color and warmth. It was a place of contrasts: sacred and festive, eternal and fleeting, overwhelming yet deeply peaceful.
The Hampi travel poster captures one of Alecse’s most cherished perspectives — the view from Yantrodharaka Hanuman Temple, perched high above the river. From this silent lookout, the valley opens wide, revealing scattered shrines, stepped tanks, and colossal stones. Rendered in warm rusts and faded teals, the poster uses Alecse’s signature halftone texture and aquarelle-inspired layering to convey not just the topography, but the feeling of awe. It’s not a documentary image — it’s a spiritual impression, a memory shaped by light and emotion.
Fun fact: Hampi’s ruins span over 25 square kilometers and include remnants from as early as the 1st century, though its golden age under the Vijayanagara kings in the 14th to 16th centuries gave it much of its grandeur. Legend says its boulders were hurled during mythic battles between gods — and wandering its landscape, you may find that easy to believe.
This India wall art print is more than just a tribute to ancient ruins. It’s a visual meditation on impermanence, reverence, and the silent dialogue between time and stone.
Bonus fun fact: In the 1980s, a film about the monkey god Hanuman was shot in Hampi. To bring authenticity to the scenes, the production team released dozens of monkeys around the temple complexes — but they were never recaptured. To this day, their descendants still roam freely among the ruins, making the myth feel unusually real. It’s as if Hanuman himself left a living signature on the landscape.
6. Kuata – A Bucket List Dream in the Heart of Fiji
Some posters begin not with a memory, but with a longing — and Kuata, in the Yasawa Islands of Fiji, is exactly that. Unlike the other destinations in this selection, Alecse has never set foot on this island. The inspiration came from a photograph taken by his brother François, capturing a moment of quiet perfection: a traditional Fijian boat floating in crystal-clear waters, anchored just offshore as jagged volcanic cliffs rise in the background. The image immediately sparked something — the desire to go, to feel, to render.
Though Alecse hasn’t yet surfed Kuata’s waves, this island sits firmly at the top of his bucket list. With its remote location, untouched wilderness, and dreamlike palette of blue and green, it embodies everything that draws him to the Pacific: wide-open space, raw geology, and the promise of elemental solitude. Through his poster, he explores the place not as a past traveler, but as a visual interpreter — letting his imagination fill in the heat of the sun, the scent of salt, the rhythm of the ocean.
The Kuata Island vintage travel poster is a love letter to this dream. The composition is serene and bold: a single boat in a vast turquoise sea, with sharp mountain peaks carving the skyline behind it. Alecse’s blend of digital aquarelle, halftone grain, and slightly faded colors gives the print a timeless, almost cinematic quality. It feels both present and far away — as if you’re looking at a scene that has waited just for you.
Fun fact: The Yasawa Islands were closed to outside visitors for most of the 20th century, keeping their ecosystems and communities largely intact. Today, Kuata is accessible by boat from Nadi, but retains its feeling of disconnection — a place where silence still rules and time moves with the tide.
This Fiji art print is more than a window onto the South Pacific — it’s a portrait of a dream not yet lived, and a tribute to the power of landscapes that inspire from afar.
These six destinations are more than dots on a map. They are chapters in Alecse’s life, moments translated into texture, light, and ink. Each poster tells a unique story, and together, they form a vibrant passport through art.
Stay tuned for more destination spotlights in The Poster Chronicles.
Created July 2025 – All designs by Alecse, part of the Artful Travels™ collection. Available in postcard and 8 poster sizes (up to 5XL).
