Why can you live in Villas Las Estrellas only after a small operation?
Each locality has its own living conditions. And if in most parts of the world they are more or less the same, there are places where they are radically different and even unique. The latter just include the small settlement of Villas Las Estrellas, where you can come only on one condition - if a potential local resident has his appendix removed. You will have to remove it even if it is absolutely healthy and does not get inflamed.
Villas Las Estrellas is a picturesque place with unique living conditions. The history of this Chilean settlement is quite interesting. It was founded on April 9, 1984 during the reign of the famous Augusto Pinochet as part of the research station President Eduardo Frei Montalva in Antarctica, in the commune of Antarctica in the province of Antarctica-Chilena. Villas Las Estrellas is one of two permanent settlements located in Antarctica, the other one belongs to Argentina. Actually, the unspoken rivalry with it was one of the reasons for the founding of this place.
In total, the settlement consists of 14 residential houses, the area of which is 72 sq.m. or 90 sq.m. In addition, infrastructure has been built there, which is represented by a kindergarten, an elementary school, where two teachers teach about 15-20 students, a library, a Catholic chapel, a Chilean Air Force hospital, a hospital, a supermarket and even a souvenir shop. Various types of communications in the form of mail, mobile towers, radio stations, television and the Internet are established in the settlement.
The climatic conditions there are quite severe, but not the most difficult on the territory of the cold mainland - this is due to the fact that Villas Las Estrellas is located on the coast. Actually, therefore, the population there is only about 80 people in the summer months, and up to 150 in the winter. Often these are members of the Chilean Air Force and researchers who work at the President Eduardo Frei Montalva station, as well as members of their families.
That's just to get there, any person, regardless of occupation, will have to undergo an operation to remove the appendix, even if it has not become inflamed.
The reason for this strange decision is that although there are doctors and a hospital in Villas Las Estrellas, none of them have surgical qualifications, and the nearest place where they can get help in case of acute appendicitis is located as much as 1000 kilometers from the settlement . Therefore, in order to avoid complications or even death in case of probable inflammation of the appendix, which can occur at any time, it is removed in advance.
