21st century Crusoe who built his own island... and now he’s found his Girl Friday!
HE has spent seven years constructing a floating island – complete with a hot tub and internet connection – out of 150,000 recycled plastic bottles.
But for Richart Sowa, 61, one thing was missing from his idyllic life on Joyxee Island near Cancun, Mexico: A soulmate to join him there.
Then the artist, originally from Middlesbrough, met former model Jodi Bowlin, 47, on Facebook last year, and now she shares his unlikely paradise. Twice-married Mr Sowa said: ‘I always loved my island lifestyle and enjoy each chance to show the beauty of the place to anyone I can. However, it’s not the same as having that one special person in my life.’
He said that despite being 30 yards from the shore and having a base made from air-filled plastic bottles, wood pallets and sand, his island has all the mod-cons a lady could want. The three-storey house has two bedrooms, a hot tub, three showers, a kitchen. The working internet comes through a 100ft-long cord which connects the island to the shore and also provides solar generated electricity and fresh water.
Palm trees, mangroves, fruit trees and edible herbs and plants all grow from the sand and soil of the handmade island. After her first visit to the Island, Miss Bowlin, from Tennessee, decided she wanted to make a life there – as long as she could apply her woman’s touch.
‘I’ve been able to motivate Richart to fix the place up,’ she said. ‘The toilet works perfectly now and solar panels now provide electricity. He is a great carpenter so we were able to work together to ensure the structure is sound and the house is as solid as a rock.
‘But the island itself gently rocks on the water, so sleeping there is like being held in your lover’s arms.’
Joyxee Island is Mr Sowa’s third bottle paradise – the previous two were in unprotected waters and destroyed by hurricanes.
Undeterred by these disasters, he built his third island beginning with ten bags of bottles he retrieved from his second attempt. He now makes a living from his art and showing visitors around his private island in exchange for voluntary donations.