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Santa Cruz del Islote is an island located off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia, a two-hour boat ride from the city. The island, with an area of only about 12,000 square meters—roughly the size of two football fields—is home to 18 families comprising 97 households.
The average population here is 700 people, and this number can increase to over 1,200 when children who attend school on the mainland return to the island to visit their families. This extremely high population density makes Santa Cruz del Islote the most densely populated island in the world.
A life lacking material comforts...
The only common space where people could gather was a courtyard about half the size of a tennis court. Children sometimes had to travel by boat to other islands to play soccer. The area was so densely populated that Santa Cruz del Islote lacked a cemetery to handle burials. Therefore, the dead were transported to other islands for interment.
The only common space where people could gather was a courtyard about half the size of a tennis court.
The income of the island's inhabitants mostly depends on fishing, serving tourist routes passing through the island, or processing seafood to supply luxury hotels in the nearby area. The biggest difficulties for the people here are the lack of electricity, water, and healthcare. Currently, there are no doctors or medical staff on the island.
The residents still lack access to the national electricity grid; their daily lives rely primarily on solar panels and a generator that runs for five hours a day. Similarly, water is extremely scarce, transported to the island only once every three weeks by Colombian naval vessels.
In addition, waste and environmental pollution are also issues of great concern to the Colombian government. Authorities have reportedly signed agreements with waste management companies, implementing recycling programs, environmental protection measures, and improvements to the quality of life for the island's residents.
Water is also extremely scarce here because it is transported to the island by Colombian naval vessels only once every three weeks.
...but there is plenty of peace.
Despite their poverty and hardships, the people of Santa Cruz del Islote enjoy a peaceful and joyful life every day. They don't worry about crime, violence, or armed conflicts and are completely isolated from the complex political situation of Colombia.
This island has absolutely no police; security is so good that people don't need to lock their doors before going to bed every night, because everyone here knows each other and is as close-knit as one big family. They readily support each other in life, and if a family lacks food, they can go to their neighbor's house to ask for a share.
It is precisely because of this peacefulness that most residents of Santa Cruz del Islote Island do not want to leave. However, in recent years, young people have begun to move to the mainland to find better jobs and improve their quality of life.
There is only one school on the island with 80 students. The students here are considered more well-behaved and disciplined than those in other areas. In particular, they are very respectful and obedient to their elders. According to Guillermo Candales, a security officer sent by the government to guard the school, in his decades of service, he has never witnessed a single fight or act of violence among the students.
Legend has it that over 150 years ago, a group of fishermen, while searching for new fishing grounds, discovered the island of Santa Cruz del Islote. Unlike the surrounding islands, it was exposed to winds from all directions, preventing mosquitoes from breeding. Therefore, they decided to set up tents and rest there. That night, they had a peaceful dream. In that dream, they saw a new life on this island. From then on, people began to come and settle there.
This island has absolutely no police; security here is so good that people don't even need to lock their doors before going to bed each night.
When visiting Santa Cruz del Islote, tourists cannot stay overnight because there is no land available for guesthouses or hotels. Therefore, tourists are forced to sleep on one of the nearby islands and visit Santa Cruz del Islote for a day trip. These visits, though brief, are enough for tourists to get an overview of the colorful life of the locals, where South American cultural identity is still preserved, and the island's tranquility captivates anyone.
