When you think of island living, you usually imagine white sands, blue waters, and palm trees.

When you look at Santa Cruz del Islote in Colombia from a distance, it doesn’t really fit that image. In fact, it’s hard to figure out exactly what you’re looking at.

Santa Cruz is one of 10 islands in Colombia’s San Bernardo Archipelago in the Gulf of Morrosquillo. The island rests on a combination of seabed and coral, and is roughly the size of two rugby fields.

The exact population size is unknown, although the island comprises 115 houses, crammed together in very close proximity.

According to CNN:

Legend has it that fishermen from the nearby islands spent the night on Santa Cruz and decided to stay there permanently when they realized [sic] there were no mosquitoes. 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 the neighboring Punta Faro hotel on Múcura Island, and travel to Santa Cruz by speed boat to explore for a few hours.

It’s like stepping into a Gabriel García Márquez novel. 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 on Santa Cruz his whole life, says it is more like 900.

“We get annoyed because the media always say the island is more crowded than it is,” grumbles Nal, who seems to act as community leader, tour guide and spokesperson all rolled into one.

Although tourists cannot stay on the island, they do visit often. Visitors are asked to pay 3 000 Colombian pesos (about R15) upon arrival which goes towards conservation of the island.

Visitors used to be welcome for free but behaved badly:

In recent years, Nal says, more backpackers have come to visit, taking pictures of islanders as if they were visiting a zoo.

“It was very disrespectful,” he says. “Now we charge something, and we give them a tour, so the tourists realize we are not just here to be looked at, but instead they can learn about our culture.”

Life on the island is described as “organised chaos” which, alongside the lack of mosquitos, suits the islanders just fine.

[source:cnn]