Spanish Steps

This past Friday we decided to do a hike on the base which leads down a fairly steep but short cliff...it's the Spanish Steps that lead to a Spanish well and then on to the beach at Orote point. The Spanish well was possibly the source of water for Fort Santiago. During our hike we had to descend down a very steep rocky area using mooring lines to assist with the descent. There were also a couple ladders stuck in a couple places, one was an old metal ladder from a sub and there was a wooden ladder as well. Once we finished rappelling down to the bottom of the cliff, we found the Spanish well with a hermit crab adorning it.

From here the path diverges two ways, so we headed through the forest along the base of the cliff to the cave and then on to coral pebble beach. Needless to say we did not examine the cave too closely. I had already been waving a large leaf in front of me as we walked on the path to get rid of the spider webs that were abundant on the hike. Climbing down into a dark cave, which was sure to have many more creepy crawly things in it, did not appeal to us. So we ventured on to the beach area which looks out on the channel between Orote Peninsula and Orote Island (see pictures in slideshow).

It is a gorgeous view from the beach!! The water is very inviting and if it had been low tide we should have been able to make our way from that beach around the rocks to the other side. However it was high tide and we were not wearing water friendly shoes. I know some would say you could just take your shoes off, however, this beach was fairly rocky and didn't seem friendly to tender-footed peeps like us.

So we retraced our steps back to the well and then continued on the other way which led us to another beach on the other side which was definitely more beachy. Nice sandy beach that was definitely more appealing to bare feet. Both spots had great views of Apra Harbor and the water was very clear!

After relishing in the lovely scenery for awhile, we made our way back through the forest and up the Spanish steps. The slideshow below also includes pictures of the steps, the ladder, and the lines we used to climb back out. Although it was very steamy in the forest, it was a very nice hike and one I would do again with water friendly shoes!!

Enjoy the photos!

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