Today Antoine and I decided to visit Tarpon Springs, FL, a.k.a. "the sponge capital of the world". Tarpon Springs is a small Greek community about a 45 minute drive northwest of Tampa. It boasts a plethora of small shops selling homemade soaps, traditional Greek items and souvenirs, shells, clothing, art, and of course, sponges. We spent the day browsing through shops and enjoying the scenery. Antoine bought a beautiful painting at the Art on the Docks Gallery and I bought a large, iridescent shell in which to burn sage.
Though we were enjoying our time browsing and chatting, we kept wondering, "Where are the damn sponge docks?". Toward the end of our shopping excursion we decided to ask a local. We thought we would see docks made of sponge, or at least be able to see sponge off the docks, and perhaps touch it or relax by rubbing our feet on the sponge. No. It turns out we had been walking on the Sponge Docks the entire time. It is just an area where people have been diving for sponges since the 1930s and boats dock, going out for three weeks at a time, to gather sponges from the water. We felt duped. We satisfied our disappointment with some food from the Greek Cookery on our way back to the car. The baklava was tasty and, though I don't eat chicken, the Chicken Sofia looked delish! Here are some pictures of our adventure.
There was this store. . .
And then this one across the way. . .
And this one around the corner.
Though we were enjoying our time browsing and chatting, we kept wondering, "Where are the damn sponge docks?". Toward the end of our shopping excursion we decided to ask a local. We thought we would see docks made of sponge, or at least be able to see sponge off the docks, and perhaps touch it or relax by rubbing our feet on the sponge. No. It turns out we had been walking on the Sponge Docks the entire time. It is just an area where people have been diving for sponges since the 1930s and boats dock, going out for three weeks at a time, to gather sponges from the water. We felt duped. We satisfied our disappointment with some food from the Greek Cookery on our way back to the car. The baklava was tasty and, though I don't eat chicken, the Chicken Sofia looked delish! Here are some pictures of our adventure.
There was this store. . .
And then this one across the way. . .
And this one around the corner.
Toine and his painting
I was not aware of this, but am glad to be in the know.
PUPPET STOP!
Sponge for Sale
Toine prepares for an imaginary dive.
I wonder if this is THE Tarpon Spring for which the town is named.
Thanks for the memories!
For more information on Tarpon Springs:
http://www.tarponsprings.com/interest.html
I was not aware of this, but am glad to be in the know.
PUPPET STOP!
Sponge for Sale
Toine prepares for an imaginary dive.
I wonder if this is THE Tarpon Spring for which the town is named.
Thanks for the memories!
For more information on Tarpon Springs:
http://www.tarponsprings.com/interest.html
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