Kayaking Laguna Torrecilla Loiza Piñones

This kayaking trip is very long (6.41 km / 3.98 miles) and takes roughly 4 hours to make. Is very intense so is advisable that you have top physical condition before attempting it.

Route

I arrived at Loiza - Piñones and parked my car at "Corporación Piñones Se Integra" (check step 2 of my "Puerto Rico Vacation Kit #1" for instructions on how to get there).  They rent kayaks, but if you have your own they charge $5 to use their dock. I happily paid and continue to inflate my Sea Eagle Kayak.

As I was inflating my kayak a group of tourist passed by and asked about my boat. They didn't knew inflatable kayaks were a thing so I talked a bit about it, but then someone asked the name of a tree that was near the water (is the tree on the left side of the picture above). I had no idea so couldn't answer that one. After that they went away as I continue to inflate my kayak.

Everything was setup so I immediately departed, but as I was in the water I noticed that I missed something extremely important. I left my life vest in the car so I immediately went back to get it (what a dummy I am LOL).

Now I really had everything ready to make my kayaking trip. I started on red marker (see route above) and continued via the red line/path. There are several fishing boats and jetskis here, but the area is big enough to paddle safely.

When I reached the area in the picture above I had two options, go straight or to the right. I always prefer going to the right because you cut through a mangrove that looks amazing.

After going through the mangrove I was just behind the San Juan International Airport and is very fun to see airplanes flying over you. I always find fascinating that the sound of large commercial airplanes have a slight delay from their actual position.

I continue going south, slowly moving to the green marker ("Rest Here 1" - see route above). The wind sometimes hits hard moving the water a bit and giving a nice breeze. I saw several boats and jetski going way faster than I was. It always bothers me that my kayak is so slow, but is still get me places.

At this point I had been in the water for around 2 hours so it was time to rest for a bit. Around the green marker ("Rest here 1" - see route above) there is a mangrove with enough space and shade to rest.

There are many other places in that area that you can even get out of your kayak. For my next trip here I will definitely look for another place to rest because the place I picked had this rather disgusting fungus.

I rested here for about 15 minutes, but just as I was about to leave I noticed something red floating in the water. I first thought it was trash that floated there, but as I looked closer the red thing was my cheap water bottle.

Of all the places it could had go it went behind the nasty fungus. I was not going to leave trash behind so using my paddle I pull it out. While I was doing that I grabbed one of the fungus (by accident) and it felt incredibly disgusting. Anyway I got my cheap water bottle back and from there on continue my route, now going via the orange path (see route above).

Orange Path Starts

Around the area of the picture above the wind was stronger, but nothing unmanageable. I continue and arrived at a very narrow path between mangroves that I needed to pass to get to the other side.

When I enter this narrow path all I can say is that it smelled pretty bad.

I continue through the narrow path at a steady pace for about 10 minutes and made it to the other side.

From there on I was on the returning path, but was a little tired so I stopped on the green marker ("Rest Here 2" see route above) to rest for a little while.

After resting for a bit and drinking some water I got on my kayak again for the final push. I continue back the path that I came until I reach the starting point. At the end of the trip I can honestly say that I was exhausted (started the trip at around 11:00 am and finished  at 3:00 pm). In spite of that I was incredibly happy with my achievement and very thankful that it didn't rain.

After I deflated my kayak and put away everything in my car I went for a short walk in Piñones. I wanted to eat a Pincho and drink something cold (ended with a lemonade).

I walked for a bit in "Paseo Piñones", enjoying how beautiful the beach is here. You can check out out the walking route I made on step 4 of my "Puerto Rico Vacation Kit #1".

From here I had plans of visiting Old San Juan (step 6 of my "Puerto Rico Vacation Kit #1"), but was so incredibly tired from my kayaking trip that I just didn't have the energy. In the future I will take you to Old San Juan, but I will be doing a much simpler kayaking trip (most likely in Condado). Until then be sure comment below or contact me on my social networks. I will be more than happy to answer any questions you have.