Atlantic coast in A Coruña (2021)Regional Government of Galicia
A myriad of small islands and islets lie just off Galicia's jagged coastline. Battered by the sea, they are icons of the local landscape, a refuge for marine species, a reference point for fishers and sailors, and the stars of many great and lesser-known stories in history.
Estelas Islands and Cíes Islands (2020)Regional Government of Galicia
Four of these coastal archipelagos and the surrounding sea make up the National Maritime-Terrestrial Park of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia (Parque Nacional Marítimo Terrestre de las Illas Atlánticas de Galicia). These archipelagos include the islands of Cíes, Ons, Sálvora, and Cortegada.
Island of Sálvora, with the pazo de Sálvora in the foreground (2018)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
They face the estuaries of Vigo, Pontevedra, and Arousa. Together, they account for just over 18,000 acres (7,000 hectares) of sea and just under 3,000 (1,200 hectares) acres of land, some of which are the best examples of Atlantic marine ecosystems.
Cies Island (2011)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
The Atlantic Islands have great biological wealth. The sea hides the most important treasure all of the park: the marine currents and the varying reliefs and underwater layers (sand, rock, algae, shells, etc.) make a perfect home for a wide variety of species of marine flora and fauna.
Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) (2013)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
The abundance of aquatic organisms, together with a lack of human interference, make this an ideal location for large populations of seabirds. The colonies of yellow-legged seagulls (Larus michahellis) and European shags (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) found on these islands are some of the largest in the world.
Common guillemot (Uria aalge) (2014)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
The lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus), Scopoli's shearwater (Calonectris diomedea), and the European storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus) also make their nests and look for shelter in the cliffs of the Atlantic Islands. The iconic common guillemot (Uria aalge) used to be here in abundance until the 1980s. Fishing and dumping lead to a major decline in their population, to the point that it is now a critically endangered species.
Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) (2014)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
Many migratory seabirds land on these islands, such as the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), as well as many species of seagulls, shearwaters, and terns. The sandwich tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis) flies spectacularly as it hunts fish in the sea. Sandwich terns are also commonly seen feeding with groups of northern gannets (Morus bassanus) in the waters surrounding the islands.
Ons Island (2021)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
On land, the biodiverse plant and animal species take shelter in the dunes, cliffs, and bushes. The islands are green despite the strong wind, which makes it difficult for plants to grow, and forest species such as oak, blackthorn, and bay trees and can be found on them.
Monte Boi and Monterreal fortress, with the Cíes Islands in the background (2020)Regional Government of Galicia
Though they are quite close to the coast, the terrestrial animals found on the island have differentiated themselves from their fellow species on the mainland. Such is the case of the natrix maura water snake; on the island of Ons, it exclusively feeds on marine animals. And on the Cíes islands, the fire salamander's offspring are born already metamorphosed.
The natural merit of the Atlantic Islands have made this nature park a unique heritage site that must be preserved.
Chapel of the pazo de Sálvora, on the island of Sálvora (2007)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
Though they have a lot in common, each archipelago has its own unique features.
Rodas Beach (Cíes Islands) (2013)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
The most southerly and well-known islands in the park are the Cíes islands. Of its three islands, two—Monteagudo and Faro—are joined by a lagoon and the Rodas sandbank, which The Guardian recently named the best beach in the world.
San Martiño Island (Cíes Islands) (2006)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
The island of San Martiño is separated from the others by a canal called Porta do Mar. It is the only island where visitors are not allowed. The other two are open to a limited number of visitors during the high season, when they can follow the islands' trails or bathe in their waters, which are as clear as they are cold.
Cíes Lighthouse (Cíes Islands) (2021)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
The archipelago comprises a series of islets joined beneath the surface of the water by enormous seabeds that house a fragile biodiversity, from the beautiful microscopic organisms found among fields of seaweed to large cetaceans, such as dolphins.
Ons Island, aerial view (2021)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
The island of Ons, its sister island, Onza, and the islet of As Freitosas have contrasting coastlines, with the side facing the mainland covered in beaches while the other is more rugged and faces the ocean. The wild sides of the islands have underwater caves called furnas.
Ons Island (2021)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
The ocean face of these islands have an underwater landscape made up of vertical walls bursting with life thanks to the upwelling of nutrient-rich deep waters.
Ons Island (2013)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
Ons is the only island in the National Park that is still inhabited today. The island has 62 permanent residents, though in the 1950s it was home to more than 500 people. It has a long history of fishing, primarily revolved around catching octopuses.
Sálvora
Sálvora Island (2021)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
Sálvora island is the most westerly island in the Arousa estuary, surrounded by a constellation of legendary islands, such as the small islands of Noro, Vionta, and Sagres.
Pazo de Sálvora, on the island of Sálvora (2004)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
History has left its imprint on Sálvora island. The island was once inhabited, and there are still traces of human life: a lighthouse, an old salting factory converted into a traditional Galician house (pazo), and a little village frozen in time, still with its eight granaries and a chapel.
Sálvora Island (2007)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
The shipwreck of the steamboat Santa Isabel in 1921, in which 213 people died, still lives in the local collective memory. A further 58 people aboard a small vessel were saved by four women from the island. They were known as the Heroines of Sálvora and are the main characters in a film called The Island of Lies (La Isla de las Mentiras) by Paula Cons (2020).
Cortegada Island, aerial view (2005)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
The island of Cortegada and the neighboring Malveiras islands enjoy great biological wealth as they are within the Arousa estuary. Near the islands, there is a clam and cockle cultivation area used by the mainland town of Carril, which is nearly connected to Cortegada at low tide.
Cortegada Island (2018)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
Occasional guided tours allow visitors to get closer to the island and its heritage, including its chapel, stone crosses, and the remains of a small village and lazaretto (a quarantine area used to treat sick maritime travelers).
Cortegada Island, aerial view (2021)Original Source: Axencia Turismo de Galicia
Cortegada's best-kept secret is hidden in its thick pine groves: a forest of bay trees, one of the most prominent in Europe, is found here. Some trees reach 40 feet (12 m) in height.
You are all set!
Your first Culture Weekly will arrive this week.