In an effort to get a little exercise, we decided to hike to the top of the mountain overlooking Spaanse Waters.  We had already hiked to the Indian which was almost to the top, but couldn’t find a trail from the Indian to the tippy top.

This is a shot of the mountain we hiked.  I took this from shore, just West of the Beekenburg Fort.  We were already a bit higher than the water, as you can see we are overlooking one of the anchorages.

Mountain overlooking Spaanse Waters.

The initial trail is pretty easy as it is on roads that lead to a dirt path.  You just have to watch for prickles (bushes with prickles), cacti, and other sharp, pointy plants.

Road leads to dirt trail just prior to the lava rock path.

The cacti are pretty easy to avoid, as you can walk around or over them, but the prickly plants that cover the path make it hard to pass without getting stuck.

Mean prickles that like to reach out and touch you.

As we continued to climb, our nice dirt path turned into a lava rock (or fire rock) path. As you might remember, I have a history with lava rock as they left a pretty memorable scar on my leg when we encountered each other last.  Besides being challenging to hike on in flip flops, the lava rock has catci growing in the crevices making it hard to avoid.

Lava rock with hidden cacti.

No stabbing today!

Matt forges ahead, attempting to find the best path while avoiding the pointy tips of the plants.

Matt searching for solid footing around the cacti.

Half way to the top, I stop to take a photo of Santa Barbara Beach Resort.

View of Santa Barbara Resort: half way to the top

We eventually made it to the top, after a round about way up and it was worth it!  The view takes your breath away.

“King of the World”

Panorama of Spaanse Waters.

After a short rest, we head back down – this is trickier for me than going up as my body protests.  But, we took it slow and made it down without incident.