Santa Cruz del Islote is an island located off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia, a 2-hour boat ride from the city of Cartagena. The island has a surface area of only about 12,000 square meters, roughly the area of 2 football fields, but is home to 18 families with 97 households.
The average population is 700, and this number can swell to over 1,200 when children from school on the mainland return to visit their families. The population density is so high that Santa Cruz del Islote is the most densely populated island in the world.
life of material deprivation...
The only common space for people to gather is a courtyard about half the size of a tennis court. Children sometimes have to take boats to other islands to play soccer. The population is so small that Santa Cruz del Islote has no cemetery to bury the dead, so the dead are transported to other islands for burial.
The only common space where people can gather is a courtyard about the size of half a tennis court.
The income of the islanders is mostly based on fishing, serving the tourist routes that pass through the island or processing seafood to supply luxury hotels in the surrounding area. The biggest difficulty of the people here is the problem of electricity, water and health care. Currently, there are no doctors or medical staff on the island.
The island has no access to electricity, relying on solar panels and a generator that runs for five hours a day. Water is also scarce, as it is delivered to the island by Colombian navy ships every three weeks.
In addition, waste and environmental pollution are also issues that the Colombian Government is extremely concerned about. It is known that the authorities have signed contracts with waste treatment companies, put into practice recycling programs, protect the environment as well as improve the quality of life of islanders.
Water is also extremely scarce here because it is transported to the island by Colombian navy ship every three weeks.
...but plenty of peace
Despite the poverty and lack of everything, the people of Santa Cruz del Islote still enjoy a peaceful and happy life every day. They do not worry about crime, violence or armed conflicts and are completely isolated from the complicated political situation of Colombia.
This island has absolutely no police, security here is so good that people do not need to lock their doors every night before going to bed, because everyone here knows each other and is close to each other like a real big family. They are willing to support each other in life, any family without food can go to the neighbor's house to ask for "free food".
Because of this peace, most people on Santa Cruz del Islote do not want to leave. However, in recent years, young people have begun to find their way to the mainland to live in search of better jobs and a better quality of life.
There is only one school on the island with 80 students. The students here are said to be more obedient and disciplined than those in other areas. In particular, they are very respectful and obedient to their elders. According to Mr. Guillermo Candales, a security guard sent by the Government to guard the school, in his decades of work, he has never seen a fight or violence between students.
Legend has it that more than 150 years ago, a group of fishermen, while out at sea looking for new sources of fish, discovered the island of Santa Cruz del Islote. Unlike the surrounding islands, this place receives winds from all directions, making it impossible for mosquitoes to breed. So, they decided to set up camp and rest. That night, everyone had a peaceful dream. In that dream, they saw a new life for themselves on this island. From then on, people began to come here to reclaim and live.
The island has absolutely no police, and security is so good that people don't even need to lock their doors before going to bed at night.
When visiting Santa Cruz del Islote, tourists cannot stay overnight because there is no land left to build motels or hotels. Therefore, tourists are forced to sleep on one of the neighboring islands and come here for a day trip. These visits, though short, are enough for tourists to have an overview of the colorful life of the people, where the South American cultural identity is still preserved and the peace of the island makes anyone fall in love.
