Puno to Colca

I didn't want to backtrack to Juliaca to take the main road towards Arequipa and Colca...	...and my Hammond map dated 2007/2007 showed the road from Santa Luciato Imata passing south of Laguna Lagunillas	...I thought we'd hit the main road shortly after Chuchuchune...but the map was wrong and the main road is north of the lake.	From Puno we made good time to Tiquillaca
Dusty Plaza de Armas, Tiquillaca, Peru (Puno Region)	Pack llamas outside Tiquillaca	Although slower than the main road, the scenery was pleasant ...	... and no traffic
Main street of Vilque (3939m) 32km down the dirt road	Church of Vilque (Puno) Peru	House painted with traditional sympols, Vilque	Municipalidad de Vilque
Plaza de Armas, Vilque (Puno)	Walled enclosure outside Vilque	House with donkeys	We're not lost...yet...still en route to Maņazo (Puno)
...and the road is still pretty good	Maņazo (Puno) Peru	Church, Maņazo (Puno)	Maņazo (Puno)
Maņazo (Puno)	PeruJun08 3201.jpg	Beyond Maņazo, the road deteriorated and the locals thought we were crazy to go on	But at least it was pretty
Our next waypoint on the map was the village of Chuchuchune	Off the beaten path	...At least there was only one road to follow	The old road to Arequipa
The old Puno-Arequipa road	Marcos, the guide, hadn't been this way before	The old Puno-Arequipa road	The old Puno-Arequipa road
Herd of Alpaca by a stream	Definitely alpaca	We've seen more alpaca than people driving this way	Alpaca along the old Puno-Arequipa road
Could that be our waypoint Chuchuchune?	The road continues on...nice thing is that there are km markers that are counting down	Livestock enclosure	The first of several small lakes we pass - S15.9/W70.5
A flock of Andean Geese (Chloephaga melanoptera)	The dirt road passes to the north of this small lake so it seems to be unmapped	Small lake in the high Andes (14,450ft)	A second lake in the distance (S15.9/W70.54) again, on the left
Passage is very slow along this rough road...reminiscient of the road from Ayacucho to Andalhuaylas	...but a rewards...a real live smoking volcano!!!	Most likely, Volcan Ticani (5408m) or Ubinas	Sloooooow road! ...but still headed west
Passing to the south of a third lake that is not on the map...	Third lake at S15.88/W70.56	Somewhere around here was a tiny little track heading off to the left...which turned out to the the planned route	Another small lake, this one at S15.84/W70.6
Now a lake to the west (S15.814/W70.62)	I'm a bit concerned since we're not headed generally north and the km markers are counting in the opposite direction	People here said the road to Arequipa is in the direction we're heading	The road is following the west shore of this lake northbound...to Santa Lucia
....according to the map, we want to be going the other way...but the new road to Arequipa was not on my 2006/2007 Hammond map	Marcos is sure that we'll hit the new road going this way	...and it turns out had we backtracked to the mapped route, we'd have never made Colca in one day	Alpaca
The Juliaca-Arequipa Railroad just south of Santa Lucia	Large Llama herd, Santa Lucia	Approaching civilization, Santa Lucia	Municipalidad Distrital Santa Lucia
Our detour is over...the beautiful new road...which as of March 2009 isn't on Google Earth either	Laguna Lagunillas, Peru	The new road from Juliaca to Arequipa on the north side of Laguna Lagunillas	Now southbound on the western shore of Laguna Lagunillas headed to Imata
Mirador Laguna Lagunillas - 4410m	Laguna Lagunillas	Llama crossing, Peru	Flamingos in an Altiplano pond, Peru
High pass - Crucero Alto - 4528m (14,855ft)	Crucero Alto, not quite as high as Abra Anticona	Mixed flock of sheep and alpaca	Peru route 30A, the new Juliaca-Arequipa road
Crossing from the Puno Region to the Arequipa Region	Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca, Peru	Straight road across the Altiplano, Salinas National Reserve	Leaving Imata behind us
Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca	Vicuņa crossing sign, Peru	Vicuņa (Vicugna vicugna) are one of four species of camelid (the others are llama, alpaca and guanaco)	Vicuņa crossing, Peru
Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca	Interesting rock formations along Highway 30A through the Salinas National Reserve	The local people are still able to graze their flocks within the reserve boundaries	Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca
Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca	Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca	Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca 4000m	Heading towards the volcanoes of Arequipa - Nevado Chachani 6057m (19,872ft)
Volcan Misti on the left and Nevado Chachani on the right	El Misti, an impressive volcanic cone - 5822m (19,101ft)	El Misti	Looking accross the Salinas y Aguada Blanca reserve to El Misti
Mirador Carlitos 4320m (14,173ft)	El Misti	Vicuņa wildlife sign with El Misti, Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca	Vicuņa wildlife sign with El Misti, Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca
The road headed straight for Nevado Chachani	Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca	Puente Sumbay, bridge over the Rio Chili, Peru	Rio Chili, Peru
Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca	Vicuņa (Vicugna vicugna) were hunted for their fine coat	Vicuņa (Vicugna vicugna)	Here, we turn north away from Arequipa heaed to Chivay and Colca Canyon
We'll only be on the road to Cusco for a short time	Eroded stone formations	Vicuņa (Vicugna vicugna)	The turn-off from the main road to Chivay and Colca Canyon
Wetlands alongside the road	Straight road across the Altiplano headed into the sun	The road to Chivay and Colca Canyon climbing	Ice alongside the road
Scenic drive to Chivay	Distant volcanoes	Another distant volcano	Rocks piled at the high point on the road to Chivay at 4860m (15,944ft)
Road to Chivay and Colca Canyon	Starting the long descent to Chivay	Road winding down the mountain to Chivay	The final decent to Chivay and Colca
The descent to Chivay	Mountains along the road to Chivay