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Sunday, November 22, 2015

Tarpon Springs

Take a short drive west out of Tampa and you will come to the small  town of Tarpon Springs Florida known as the Sponge Capitol of the World


Before the arrival of the Greek divers sponges were usually speared and brought aboard. In the late 1880's hundreds of Greeks, who had perfected the art of deep sea diving and specifically sponge diving, came to Tarpon Springs


The mural on the wall of a shop illustrates a diver at work collecting sponges


Sponge boats used to line the river here and go out to the Gulf to harvest sponges


As the marker says the Gulf waters here are one of the few places in the world where sponges are found. As the industry grew more and more Greek divers came and made their homes here. A large Greek community still resides here today


By the 1950's sponging was nearly wiped out in the area. But in the late 1980's as conditions improved new sponge beds started growing. 


Today a visitor to Tarpon Springs can go on a boat and see a sponge dive or just take a tour and see the sights


On Dodecanese Blvd many shops and restaurants have made this a great way to spend the day







Charter boats available for fishing trips


Tarpon Springs...you can easily spend a day here walking and seeing the sights. A great way to spend and afternoon

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