Santa Comba

To get to our next beach, we take the CP-3603 road and at the signposted crossroads we turn left towards Santa Comba.

Both fascinating, and a unique beauty, Santa Comba is a long linear north-facing beach with white sand. It is windy, and has a strong swell and undercurrent. It has a length of 1,500 metres and a width of 25 metres. At the western edge of this beautiful, unspoilt beach, there is a group of islets which hint at the erosive power of the sea on the cliffs. A chapel and archaeological site are located on an old outcrop which separates Ponzos and Santa Comba beaches. The erosive action of the sea divided the original space into three islets. On Santa Comba isle, we find an archaeological site which covers a wide chrono-cultural sequence, proven by the surveys carried out in 2001. The results have enabled the identification of the different stages of occupation of the settlement: iron age (with the presence of kilns for melting metals), Roman age and high middle ages.

The construction of the Romanesque chapel, whose first written reference goes back to the year 1110, implies the Christianisation of an area which was thought to be pagan. Access is only possible at low tide. Santa Comba is a place of legends. One of these legends says that Santa Comba arrived by sea with his son San Silvestre on a stone ship on a stormy day. Santa Comba abandoned his son there. He later came to regret this, and after confessing his sin years later to a priest, who turned out to be his son, he returned with him to the place where the chapel is located to ask for God´s forgiveness. To this day, every year at the end of August, a religious celebration is held. The dunes at Santa Comba are an area of spectacular natural beauty and importance. The visit is recommended for the peacefulness and the beautiful sight of waves crashing against the rocks. The surroundings make the beach a perfect spot for water sports. There is a coastal path which starts at Santa Comba and passes through several municipalities of the region. It belongs to Nature 2000, a network of protected areas in the European Union which was created to conserve important natural environments.