La Merced, Perú. This was my second visit to La Merced, and for this journey, the first rain I've seen since before leaving Colombia back on March 2. I wrote a full blog about La Merced on Feb. 13, 2023. This time my visit is a stopover halfway between Lima and Oxapampa. I hate long bus rides, meaning any bus ride longer than six hours. The bus ride from Lima to Oxampampa is more than twice that.

La Merced is a pleasant little town at the eastern edge of the Andes Mountains in the region they call "Selva Central" - it lays between the eastern flanks of the Andes and the Amazon Basin, and in the central part of Perú. The last time I was here, just over a year ago, they had started on clearing an area for a new theme park. I had hoped to see it this time, but it is not completed. They do have a new gravel road alongside the river that connects that new park area to an older park with mulitple soccer fields, a swimming pool, and other sports areas. In the past they were not connected. A security woman in the park told me they expect to start constuction on the theme park next year.

There are many more photos in the photo album.