As a child, he fished there, as do most islanders, and worked in the fields on the mainland.

His mother sent him to study in Panama City, where he lived for more than 30 years before returning home.

"I came back because my heart wanted me here, and this house is the one my family left me," Lopez said.

"My grandmother, my grandfather and my aunt died here ... it's not going to be the same, but I have to move on because life goes on," he added.

Lopez will live in house number 256 with three sisters and a daughter.

He said he hopes to grow crops such as pumpkins, cassava, pineapples or bananas to sell, and is planning where the furniture and appliances will go — and even contemplating a possible extension to his new house.

"Here we have everything to bathe... there (on the island) we don't have that," he said.

"Of course, everyone is happy, but it's a brutal change."

Agencies Via Xinhua