PABLO Novak might just be the world’s loneliest man.
The 93-year-old is the sole inhabitant of a mysterious ghost town that disappeared underwater for 25 years.
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The desolated town of Epecuen re-emerged in 2009, some 300 miles southwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital, when the water it was submerged in finally evaporated due to dry weather conditions.
Pablo grew up in Epecuen and remembers when his hometown was overrun with floodwaters.
He returned when the water level dropped and receded to reveal ruins similar to that found in a war zone, bleached white by salt and sun, and settled into an abandoned house with a garden.
Pablo said: “Until about four or five years after the flood, when the waters were still high, nobody came around here at all.
“I was totally alone. All day, every day.”
He told CNN: “I spent time looking for a 20-year-old bottle of whiskey and, eventually, I found one that I drank all by myself.
“As for good wines, they did not leave anything behind.”
At its prime, circa 1980, Epecuen was a thriving lakeside holiday resort visited by more than 20,000 tourists a year and home to 2,000.
Old pictures show the town in all of its glory, with tourists dressed in swimsuits and summer attire, enjoying the sun, each other’s company, and the crystal blue waters of the lake.
Many believed the lake, Laguna Epecuen, had healing properties, and flocked from near and far to test its powers.
It was said to have treated ailments ranging from rheumatism and skin conditions to diabetes and depression.
Others, including Jewish tourists from Buenos Aires, were drawn to the town as the lake’s buoyancy reminded them of Israel’s Dead Sea.
A train station was established in the town in 1972, complementing some 280 businesses including hotels, museums, and even a hippodrome, all which had been built to cater to the massive crowds.
But suddenly, in November 1985, disaster struck – in the form of a rare weather pattern.
Rain battered the town and a large wave broke a nearby dam.
Within two weeks, Epecuen had drowned beneath water three metres deep and its residents had evacuated, most never to return.
It remained a hidden underwater world for nearly 25 years, the water levels rising and reaching a peak of 33ft in 1993, before re-emerging in 2009, its streets dusty and lined with debris and rust-eaten cars.
Today, the town could be the set of a film about an apocalypse, with dead and bleached trees caused by corrosive saltwater, rusted and forgotten belongings, and even an abandoned slaughterhouse.
Pablo told CNN in 2015 that he had grown used to being alone, as his wife did not follow him to the deserted village and his family lived in a neighbouring town.
He lives in a small and dusty house filled with rusted chairs and piles of newspapers that is without electricity.
The 93-year-old said: “I saw this town be born and I saw it die. It does not affect me anymore.”
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