We´d heard lots about the Panamericana (or Ruta 5), the major highway that runs roughly parallel with the Andes for much of the length of South America. So, after a couple of days of eating dirt, at Linares we decided to test ride some smooth tarmac. And smooth it was! Although the speed limit is 120 kilometres an hour here, the lanes are wide, and there is a clean, smooth shoulder, and hardly any traffic for a major highway. We even managed to overtake a couple of locals on bikes and a horse-drawn cart. Like most highways, the Ruta 5 wasn´t built for the scenery, and apart from having the Andes on our left shoulder for the day, it was unspectacular riding. We left the highway at Parral (still in Región Maule) and headed west, for
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