Fifty-eight beaches on Pontevedra’s coast will bear the blue flag this summer 2021
A total of 58 blue flags will be waving along the coastline of the province of Pontevedra this summer. This way, As Rías Baixas guarantee excellent water quality and adequate provision of services to beach users. The municipality and the city with the most flags in Spain are found in this province, and it has the only blue flag in Spain awarded to river beaches.
The Association for Environmental and Consumer Education (ADEAC) has given a total of 111 flags throughout Galicia, which amounts to 155 if we add 11 marinas, 20 blue trails and 13 blue community centres.
One more year, Sanxenxo is the municipality of Spain with the highest number of blue flags. The beaches of A Lapa, Agra, Areas, Areas Gordas, Baltar, Bascuas, Canelas, Caneliñas, Espiñeiro, Foxos, Major, Montalvo, Nosa Señora da Lanzada, Panadeira, Paxariñas, Pragueira and Silgar will renew their accreditations.
The city with the highest number of blue flags in the country is also in As Rías Baixas. The city of Vigo has ten beaches and three trails along the seashore with this certification. One more year, the beaches of A Punta, Argazada, Canido, Carril, Fontaíña, Fortiñón, O Vao, Rodas (Cíes Islands), Samil and Tombo do Gato will bear the flue flag thanks to their water quality and excellent facilities.
The town of Cangas follows with seven blue flags: Baiona, with a total of six, and Marín renews the five flags received last year for the beaches of Aguete, Loira, Mogor, Portocelo and O Santo. In Bueu, there will be four beaches bearing the blue flag, namely, Area de Bon, Lagos, Lapamán and Portomaior.
Vilagarcía de Arousa keeps the two blue flags of the beaches of Campanario and Compostela and the same happens to the beaches of Area da Secada and O Bao, both in Vilagarcía de Arousa. The municipality of Poio will have a new blue-flag beach, Cabeceira.
A Calzada, in Ponte Caldelas, is once again the only river beach to be awarded the blue flag in Galicia.
Marinas and trails
Five of the eleven flags awarded by ADEAC to marinas in Galicia will be in the province of Pontevedra. Three of them will be in Sanxenxo: in the ports of Sanxenxo, Portonovo and the Royal Yacht Club of Sanxenxo. The other two will fly in Cangas marina and the Monte Real Yacht Club of Baiona.
The ADEAC also certifies the quality of a total of nine coastal trails in the province of Pontevedra, including the Bao-Xastela coastal trail (A Illa de Arousa), the Cabo Udra trail (Bueu) and the Río Verdugo trail (Ponte Caldelas).
In addition, Marín was granted a single blue flag for its network of trails along/by the coastal inlet Ría de Pontevedra, consisting of five routes, and Sanxenxo is also given an award for its six different itineraries.
ADEAC also evaluates visitor centres, nature education centres or other similar facilities offering activities linked to environmental education on coastal ecosystems and/or sustainable development.
In this last category, the province of Pontevedra received a total of six awards, namely for the Nature Education Center of Cabo Udra (Bueu) the interpretation centre of Agrelo (Bueu), the interpretation centre of the petroglyphs of Mogor and the Ateneo Santa Cecilia (Marín), the interpretation centre of As Telleiras (Sanxenxo), and the Interpretation Center of the Canned Food/Fish (A Illa de Arousa).
