In this May 6, 2013 photo, former resident and tourist guide Norma Berg walks by a street in Epecuen, a village that once was submerged in water in Argentina. People come to see the rusted hulks of automobiles and furniture, crumbled homes and broken appliances. They climb staircases that lead nowhere, and wander through a graveyard where the water toppled headstones and exposed tombs to the elements. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
In this May 6, 2013 photo, former resident and tourist guide Norma Berg walks by a street in Epecuen, a village that once was submerged in water in Argentina. People come to see the rusted hulks of automobiles and furniture, crumbled homes and broken appliances. They climb staircases that lead nowhere, and wander through a graveyard where the water toppled headstones and exposed tombs to the elements. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
In this May 7, 2013 photo, a toilet lays among the ruins of the village of Epecuen, which once was submerged in water in Argentina. Epecuen was once a bustling little lakeside resort, where 1,500 people served 20,000 tourists a season. During Argentina's golden age, the same trains that carried grain to the outside world brought visitors from the capital to relax in Epecuen's saltwater baths and spas. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
In this May 7, 2013 photo, birds fly over the village of Epecuen, Argentina. Epecuen village was once home to 1,500 residents before it started flooding on November 10, 1985. After heavy rains the lake Epecuen burst its banks . It only took 20 days for the town to submerge beneath almost 10 metres (30 feet) of water forcing everybody to leave. As the years passed slowly the water started to recede. Nowadays the town that was never rebuilt, and was famous for therapeutic salty waters that surrounded it, is once again becoming a tourist destination but for the ruins that have been left. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
In this May 7, 2013 photo, trees are reflected in water in Epecuen, a village that once was submerged in water in Argentina. Many residents of Epecuen fled to nearby Carhue, another lakeside town, and set up new hotels and spas, promising relaxing getaways featuring saltwater and mud facials. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
In this May 6, 2013 photo, trees line a road seen through a car in Epecuen, a village which once was submerged in water in Argentina. A strange ghost town that spent a quarter-century under water is coming up for air again in the Argentine farmlands southwest of Buenos Aires. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
EPECUEN, Argentina (AP) ? A strange ghost town that spent a quarter century under water is coming up for air again in the Argentine farmlands southwest of Buenos Aires.
Epecuen was once a bustling little lakeside resort, where 1,500 people served 20,000 tourists a season. During Argentina's golden age, the same trains that carried grain to the outside world brought visitors from the capital to relax in Epecuen's saltwater baths and spas.
The saltwater lake was particularly attractive because it has 10 times more salt than the ocean, making the water buoyant. Tourists, especially people from Buenos Aires' large Jewish community, enjoyed floating in water that reminded them of the Dead Sea in the Middle East.
Then a particularly heavy rainstorm followed a series of wet winters, and the lake overflowed its banks on Nov. 10, 1985. Water burst through a retaining wall and spilled into the lakeside streets. People fled with what they could, and within days their homes were submerged under nearly 10 meters (33 feet) of corrosive saltwater.
Now the water has mostly receded, exposing what looks like a scene from a movie about the end of the world. The town hasn't been rebuilt, but it has become a tourist destination again, for people willing to drive at least six hours from Buenos Aires to get here, along 340 miles (550 kilometers) of narrow country roads.
People come to see the rusted hulks of automobiles and furniture, crumbled homes and broken appliances. They climb staircases that lead nowhere, and wander through a graveyard where the water toppled headstones and exposed tombs to the elements.
It's a bizarre, post-apocalyptic landscape that captures a traumatic moment in time.
One man refused to leave. Pablo Novak, now 82, still lives on the edge of the town, welcoming people who wander into the wrecked streets.
"Whoever passes nearby cannot go without coming to visit here," Novak said while showing The Associated Press around. "It's getting more people to the area, as they come to see the ruins."
Many residents of Epecuen fled to nearby Carhue, another lakeside town, and built new hotels and spas, promising relaxing getaways featuring saltwater and mud facials.
"Not only do we have Epecuen with the ruins and its natural wealth, but we also can increasingly offer other alternatives," said Javier Andres, the local tourism director.
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