The rusting hulk of the Cabo Santa Maria sits directly on the beach a few kilometres north of Sal Rei, driven ashore in 1968 and never removed. The ship has slowly corroded into the sand over decades, and it is now a striking landmark: a large, red-orange wreck lying at an angle with the surf breaking around its hull.
The wreck is accessible on foot at low tide and has become an informal local attraction. There is nothing to go inside, but the scale of the vessel — seen against the empty beach and Atlantic horizon — makes it an arresting sight and a popular subject for photographs.