Hola! Today we decided to hike up to the Castillo De Santa Barbara. We heard there was a ‘lift’ across from the beach, but we figured we probably would never find it, so we hiked. It is not a difficult hike, but you want to wear good shoes because there is loose rock and the stairs to the castle can measure 1-1.5 feet in height at times. Once you are up the hill, the view of the city and shoreline is unbelievable.
The castle dates back to the 12th Century and has recent additions from the 14 and 16th centuries as well. We would have liked to see inside the castle (into the mountain), but it is not available. After we hiked up we took a different route down the mountain and walked through the Santa Cruz Barrio. The homes are all very nice and lead up to a Japanese type garden at the foot of the mountain that is very new and zen.
After hiking up and down a HUGE mountain and all through a castle, we were a bit parched. Luckily, there are bars on every corner (and in between), so we stopped at the nearest one and had the most amazing Fresa (Strawberry) and Kiwi Daquiris. The bar was called ‘Austin’ and we would highly recommend it. Following refreshment, we walked along the beach, walked home and fixed ourselves some spaghetti. After dinner, even though we only used the gas stove, it heated up the apt. so much, we thought eating out would be best from here on out.
