Jam-Packed Colombian Island

 

From a distance, it's hard at first to determine what Santa Cruz del Islote actually is. Rising from the sea, the island, one of the most densely populated globally, appears to be floating.

Legend has it that fishermen from the nearby islands spent the night on

Santa Cruz and decided to stay there permanently when they realized there were no mosquito ice. Locals attribute the mosquito-free environment to the absence of mangroves and beaches.

Santa Cruz isn't a traditional island retreat.

There's nowhere for visitors to stay. Tourists often spend the night at their neighbors

Punta Faro hotel on Mucura Island and travel to Santa Cruz by speed boat to explore for a few hours.

It's like stepping into a Gabriel Garcia

Marquez novels. Santa Cruz features a dreamlike, innocent way of life (there are no police on the island), and the colorful houses are passed down through generations, so there are no non-native residents.

Some estimates put about 1,200 inhabitants on the tiny island that's about the size of two soccer fields. But some say the community is smaller. Juve Nal, a sexagenarian who has lived in Santa Cruz his entire life, says it is more like 900.

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/santa-cruz-del-islote/index.html