Santa Cruz Del Islote – one of the smallest inhabited islands in the world
Santa Cruz Del Islote’s tiny island is located near the San Bernardo archipelago, close to the shores Colombia. Despite the fact that the island area is only 2.4 acres (0.97 hectares), more than 1,200 people live here.
Santa Cruz Del Islote population density almost four times more density in Manhattan. But this island is far from Manhattan. There are no sewage, light, water, and even land on which you can grow food. Why do people live here – ask you?
Legend says that approximately 150 years ago several fishermen decided to relax on a small coral island after a hard day in the sea. They are tired and decided to spend the night here. Waking up in the morning, fishermen were pleasantly surprised by the fact that there was no mosquito on the island, which is a big rarity in the area. After that, they decided to establish a settlement here.
Today there are 90 houses on the island, two stores, one restaurant, club and your own school. This is the most populated island in the world.
Electricity works within five hours a day for the whole island and is produced by an old gasoline generator. Fresh water here regularly brings Colombian fleet – once every three weeks.
Most of the population is involved in the service sector in the nearby islands. There is a large tourist complex where rich travelers come.
Juvenal Julio, 66-year-old instructor of scuba diving and the greatness of one of the founders of the island, calls the island a real paradise on earth. "It’s calm here, everyone knows each other, and there is practically no crime. I will live here until my days. This is a good life!"He says.
Like the remaining twelve hundreds of the inhabitants of the island, Julio will leave this place only when it will die, and that, just because there is no own cemetery on the island.
