Return of the town that drowned: Ruins of real-life Atlantis emerge 25 years after floods
Some 1,500 residents barely had time to grab their belongings when the spa resort was swamped after a lagoon burst its banks in 1985 This eerie real-life Atlantis has reappeared from under flood waters after spending 25 years submerged.Some 1,500 residents barely had time to grab their belongings when the spa resort of Villa Epecuen was swamped after a lagoon burst its banks in 1985.By 1993 the town, in eastern Argentina, which drew 20,000 visitors a year, lay hidden beneath 10 metres of water.But now, as the salty lagoon water recedes, spooky silvery ruins have re-emerged.Only one man Pablo Novak, 81, returned to the town, spending his days cycling around the ruins.He said: “I am OK here. I am just alone. I read the newspaper."And I always think of the town’s golden days of the 60s and 70s.”One former resident, Norma Berg, 48, said: “I had a bunch of cats and dogs, and they ran away a couple days before the flood and I never saw them again.“I think my pets could feel that the water was coming.”Stark reminders of daily life remain from the car engines left in the streets to the rusty beds protruding from the water.The town had 280 businesses, including lodges, guesthouses, hotels and businesses, centred around the tourist trade.Lago Epecuen’s therapeutic powers have been famous for centuries and the lagoon had salt levels only topped by the Dead Sea.Legend holds that the lake was formed by the tears of a great Chief crying for the pain of his beloved.It is said that Epecuen — or ‘eternal spring’ — can cure depression, rheumatism, skin diseases, anaemia, even treat diabetes.More visitors have come to the town recently in an attempt to salvage materials to recycle from the ruins.
Some 1,500 residents barely had time to grab their belongings when the spa resort was swamped after a lagoon burst its banks in 1985 This eerie real-life Atlantis has reappeared from under flood waters after spending 25 years submerged.Some 1,500 residents barely had time to grab their belongings when the spa resort of Villa Epecuen was swamped after a lagoon burst its banks in 1985.By 1993 the town, in eastern Argentina, which drew 20,000 visitors a year, lay hidden beneath 10 metres of water.But now, as the salty lagoon water recedes, spooky silvery ruins have re-emerged.Only one man Pablo Novak, 81, returned to the town, spending his days cycling around the ruins.He said: “I am OK here. I am just alone. I read the newspaper."And I always think of the town’s golden days of the 60s and 70s.”One former resident, Norma Berg, 48, said: “I had a bunch of cats and dogs, and they ran away a couple days before the flood and I never saw them again.“I think my pets could feel that the water was coming.”Stark reminders of daily life remain from the car engines left in the streets to the rusty beds protruding from the water.The town had 280 businesses, including lodges, guesthouses, hotels and businesses, centred around the tourist trade.Lago Epecuen’s therapeutic powers have been famous for centuries and the lagoon had salt levels only topped by the Dead Sea.Legend holds that the lake was formed by the tears of a great Chief crying for the pain of his beloved.It is said that Epecuen — or ‘eternal spring’ — can cure depression, rheumatism, skin diseases, anaemia, even treat diabetes.More visitors have come to the town recently in an attempt to salvage materials to recycle from the ruins.