While there is a wide variety of topography in the Dominican Republic (large flat plains, lowlands near beaches where rice plantations are located, deserts with cacti, etc.), the terrain of most of the country can be described as mountainous.

The tallest peak is over 10,000 feet (3100 meters) high.

Wherever our truck went -- through villages, past schools, and even past houses on the most isolated roads -- kids would hear it coming and run to the side of the road (or run behind the truck) expecting to get candy treats.   They were never disappointed!  These children, walking home from school in a small town, were no exception.

Even better -- when the trucks made their usual stop in this small village and the tourists went into the little store there to replenish their candy supplies, the children had a captive audience with plenty of treats in hand!

This main road through the village is what most of the roads we traveled on were made of (dirt and rocks)... but the surface here was more or less level.  Beyond the borders of the village, the condition of the road deteriorated.