I had been told by my friends at the hotel that many of the islanders suffer from a genetic mutation that results in an exceptionally bad sense of direction. There are many dog owners depending on their pets to guide them back when they leave the house. Another general characteristic of the islanders is that they are moody. After years of intense conflicts it was decided to make a communal effort to decrease the amount of encounters between people.
They became avid letter writers instead. If one was feeling argumentative there were always the tourists coming and going. Or the post courier.