Day 3-041
7 hrs, 1 .6 kms
Day totals: 16 hrs, 5.7 kms

Hato Mayor will be my last new town here in Dominican Republic, deep in the heartland of the country, before heading back to Santo Domingo to bring my trip to a close. My expectations are pretty low here, so I'm pleasantly surprise to find the fanciest plaza of them all, right here in this simple, unremarkable town!

It has a giant crown in the center, then decorative metalwork winding around it looking like a roller coaster track... statues and tile mosaics all around. Quite elaborate. The only structure that seems very out of place, is a giant Christmas tree shaped tower covered with.. styrofoam plates? Not the most classy "Christmas tree" I've seen...

I do notice as I wander around the plaza, that just a block away, the street isn't paved. Makes me wonder... was making this fancy plaza really the best use of the towns limited budget? Hmmm...

A lady joins me for my parkbench session. She says she'd really like to hear some music--but she keeps interrupting me in the middle of a song--so I'm not sure I can really count her as an "audience"...

And with that, my 34th and final Parkbench stop in Dominican Republic comes to an end.