This is what life looks like on the most crowded island in the world - Santa Cruz del Islota/@simplehistory_
Would you like to live in a place where there are no cars at all and no police officers? It turns out that there is such a place, but you'll have to really crowd in to live in it. Santa Cruz del Islota is an artificial island belonging to the San Bernardo Archipelago off the coast of Colombia, and is under the jurisdiction of the city of Cartagena and is the "most densely populated" place in the world. It has no cars, no policemen, but it does have thousands of tourists who flood it every year.
Santa Cruz has a small community of 1,200 residents, four roads and only 45 families in total. The island is very small - its area is one hectare (10,000 square meters - roughly the area of Trafalgar Square in London or two football fields) and the population density is 10 square meters for every 1.25 inhabitants, or 125,000 inhabitants per square kilometer. This density was created due to The large population of mosquitoes on the nearby islands, which has caused their residents to move to the island,
is one of the reasons the island attracts so many tourists, according to the New York Times. flows, sewage system, police, hospital or garbage collection".
The inhabitants of the island live in only 97 houses, all covered with tin roofs, spread over 10 neighborhoods. Due to the short distance between one side of the island and the other, residents simply walk or take a boat instead of driving a car. What's more, no car or even motorcycle will be able to pass through the narrow alleys.
The lack of police and enforcement may worry visitors, but the community is so united (and most of them are also relatives) that no one locks the doors and no crime has ever been reported in this pastoral place - a fact that really does not characterize Colombia, which is plagued by crime.
The poor residents of Santa Cruz del Isleta take care of each other and live by strict and strange rules. Most of the public institutions are on the mainland or on the neighboring islands. Among the narrow alleys there is only a restaurant, a school, two shops and a youth club. The children play in the sea water, they bury their dead on a nearby island, there are no toilets with running water, an electricity generator and two solar stations provide electricity to the place and although the residents depend on a supply of drinking water that should arrive once a week, the boat with the water from Cartagena sometimes disappears for months, reports the " independent".
More isolated places in the world
One store and 138 inhabitants: this is what life looks like on the world's most isolated island
The city of oil rocks that Stalin built is in real danger of extinction
There is no drinking water, no garbage disposal, no doctor and no education
In the absence of drinking water, the islanders had to turn to the rain as the main source of water, and most houses include a structure to collect rainwater. Of course, the water is not treated or purified, which causes health problems such as stomach infections and skin diseases.
One single clinic treats all the residents of the island, and it is full of rusty equipment in a small amount and has only one nurse. A visiting doctor comes every two weeks, but in the event of an emergency or serious illness, all islanders share the cost of a boat to take the patient to land - of course, assuming there is a boat available and the sea is not too rough.
The residents of the island also encounter similar difficulties with the removal of garbage and waste, which is supposed to be done every week but is often neglected for almost a month. To avoid additional health risks, the residents take the initiative and transport it to a neighboring island.
Even in the field of education, the island's residents face difficulties. The dilapidated three-story public school provides only basic education. In order to obtain a secondary education, the students have to go to Cartagena, where they always show a big gap with their peers. Many of the island's residents prefer to stay there and continue the traditional family business of fishing.
Many families make a living by fishing - sometimes even with the help of a bell - for lobsters, sea turtles, conch shells and octopuses. For a long time, the main sources of food and income for the islanders were the fish, lobsters and the many sea turtles found in the Caribbean Sea, but there has been a cultural change among the islanders since they became aware of the plight of these protected animals. Although sea turtles used to be their main food source, local residents now avoid catching them and even take actions to protect sea turtles caught in fishing nets until they are collected by a local conservation group.
In addition to removing sea turtles from the menu, the islanders are also raising awareness among locals and tourists of the great importance of saving them. Adrien Carabello de Hoyos leads an ecological group of 30 children, who call themselves the "reef saviors". He told the BBC: "We're all looking after the limited resources we have. We check the fishing boats every day to see what they've caught."
Vibrant life alongside poverty
Poverty and overcrowding are not what the community of Santa Cruz del Islota wants to be remembered for. The amazing photos taken by tourists who come there provide a glimpse of the vibrant life on the island, where young people make up 65% of the population. The pictures show the young people in a boat to school, or boys drinking and dancing at parties that sometimes last two or three days.
Directly or indirectly, everyone on the island makes a living from tourism. Despite its location in the Caribbean Sea, Santa Cruz del Islota is far from a pampering destination with paradise beaches, but the islanders have found a clever way to attract thousands of visitors every year - they have created two fish ponds that allow tourists to swim with local marine wildlife - from tigers to sharks.