20 Nov Days 67 & 68 Tarpon Springs Fla

After the Giant Great Blue Heron kicked us off of Anclote Key, we made our way up the Anclote River to the town of Tarpon Springs. The home of the “Sponge Docks”.

In the early 1900’s Greek sponge divers settled here and started a new industry that is still active today, although one local sponge dealer told me they are having a hard time finding people willing to work for 8 to 10 hours a day under water to harvest the natural sponges. I’m not sure I would want to do the work either.

We took a slip at the Turtle Cove Marina.

A very nice facility with great service and secure gated docks and a huge number of rack stored fishing boats.

A short walk to the Sponge Docks and downtown we found we were the first people from Port Franks to tour here as I was able to fill in a spot on the visitor map.

That night we had a very nice dinner at Rusty Bellies Waterfront Grill.

We left with full bellies and enough leftovers for another meal.

The next day we took a dinghy tour and saw a number of Manatees up close and personal.

Tarpon Springs was a good stop with lots of great restaurants and interesting shops. Well worth the stop.