History Lessons in Samana: The Shipwreck Museum

I finally made some headway seeing the real “sites” of Samaná last week when Ed and I headed over to the Shipwreck Museum in Santa Bárbara de Samaná. We’d driven by the tell-tale anchor painted on the retaining wall of the building many times. Several times, I had failed to notice the canon mounted on the patio at the top of the stairs in front of the museum. Not this time!

Shipwreck Museum, Santa Barbara de Samana, Dominican Republic

The museum opened last year and the displays are modern and well maintained. A tour guide greeted me right as I entered. “Do you want a tour?” she asked, rather abruptly. I replied that I did and she replied, just as abruptly, that the cost was $5US. The museum had been recommended by a friend so I figured the tour would be worth the price and obligingly handed over my pesos since we don’t carry dollars.

After the rocky start, our tour guide’s manner became friendlier. She led us through the museum explaining all the artifacts from the shipwreck as well telling the story of the ship itself. The museum has replicas of the ship and some of the items found by Deep Blue Marine, Inc. during the recovery. On the whole, though, I was pleasantly surprised by the array of items on display that were actually recovered from the dive site. She explained the different types of cannonballs and artillery including the second canon on display in the museum. The museum also has information on life aboard the ship – clearly life was uncomfortable and cramped for most of the crew.

Cannon from the shipwreck of the French warship, Le Scipion

Deep Blue Marine, Inc. has a conservation area in the museum where you can see pieces recovered from the wreck being restored. The new museum director, Roxanne, enthusiastically urged me to investigate some of the pieces and reached right into the huge tank to lift out a wooden pulley that was curing in the freshwater. You could feel the sponginess of the wood from the years it spent on the ocean floor. Eventually, the wood would recover its hardness in the fresh water bath.

As the tour drew to a close, Roxanne told us a couple of secrets our tour guide hadn’t shared. First, the price of the tour includes a souvenir from the museum – kids would love that! Second, the ticket also includes a beverage at the tapas restaurant next door. Since I had more questions for Roxanne, she came over to the tapas restaurant too. After sharing tales of Samana and her first week in the Dominican Republic, Roxanne headed back to the museum. I chose to try out the tapas because I’d noticed the restaurant before and wanted to see if the food was good.

View of Samana Bay, Dominican Republic, from Taberna Mediterranea Tapas and Vinos

It was. The tapas menu was extensive but not yet translated into English. With the help of the owner, Nina Domingeuz, and my passable-but-not-brilliant Spanish, I chose a hot meat dish and a cold seafood tapa of conch and octopus. Neither was quite what I expected – the meatballs weren’t quite the “chunks of meat” I was craving but the sauce was tangy with a hint of spice and went great with the crusty slices of bread accompanying the dishes. At a table nearby, two men shared a giant platter of grilled meats that I will have to try on my next visit. You can order a mix of seafood and meats or just seafood if you prefer. 

Nina Dominquez, owner of Taberna Mediterranea and Samana Living blogger, Yana

If your travels take you to Samaná, this is a nice way to spend a leisurely afternoon and learn a little about life on the Caribbean sea in the 18^th century.