Life on a small island may seem very inviting to the tourists who spend a few weeks there in the summer, but the realities of living on what is virtually a rock surrounded by water are quite different from what the casual visitor imagines. Although in summer the island villages are full of people, life and activities when the tourist season is over, many of the shop owners shut down their businesses and move to the mainland to spend the winter in town. Needless to say, those who remain on the island, either by choice or necessity, face many hardships. One of the biggest of these is isolation with its many attendant problems. When the weather is bad, which is often the case in winter, the island is entirely cut off; this means not only that people cannot have goods delivered but also that a medical emergency can be fatal to someone confined to an island. At times, telephone communication is cut off, which means that no word from the outside world can get through. Isolation and loneliness are basic reasons why so many people have left the islands for a better and more exciting life in the mainland cities, in spite of the fact that this involves leaving “home”.