Spongeorama, St. Michael, and the Manatees

On Wednesday, we drove to the city of Tarpon Springs where we visited Spongeorama and the Sponge Docks. The waterfront area of Tarpon Springs is still a working seaport, and the town has the feel of a distinctive Greek fishing village. Boutiques, restaurants, bakeries, and shops line the main street, called Dodecanese Street. 

Dodecanese Street, Tarpon Springs

If you haven't figured it out by now, Tarpon Springs is the home of a large commercial sponge industry. The sponges were discovered in 1890 accidentally when a Key West fisherman caught the sponges up into his nets and realized there might be a commercial product there. Sponge diving in Florida soon became a thing, and men from Greece, who were already harvesting sponges there, heard of sponges being discovered in Florida, and flocked to Tarpon Springs. Hence the Greek nature of the town. There are many Greek restaurants and bakeries, and the street signs are in both English and Greek.

We began our day with a tour of the infamous Spongeorama because I couldn't wait to see this most exciting place. 

I don't remember it being this cold in Spongeorama.

I don't remember much from my visit over 50 years ago, but what is there today consists mostly of a gift shop and a small theater that shows a movie detailing the history of the sponge industry in the area.

Spongeorama Theater

From the movie, we learned a little bit about the process of harvesting sponges. The divers cut off most of the sponge that grows on rocks on the bottom of the river or ocean. He leaves a little sponge on the rock so that the sponge will propagate and continue its existence. The sponges are washed on the boat dock and then hung up on the side of the boats to dry. They are sold to local vendors who wash them again, cut them, and then sell them. The whole process from harvest to market is not very long. 

Drying the sponges

Some of the interesting facts we learned from the film: natural sponges such as the ones in Tarpon Springs hold 80% more water than the commercial sponges. We also learned that sponges are the second lowest lifeforms on earth. The film didn't say what the lowest lifeform was, but after much speculation, Joe and I think we figured it out: the lowest lifeform on earth are the tourists who visit Spongeorama and purchase some of the sponges. (Guilty!)

Because the gift shop likely could not survive by selling only sponges (as I'm guessing there's a limited market for the items), they sell other typical gift shop items such as t-shirts, coffee mugs, jewelry, magnets, and soap. Lots of soap. Everywhere you go, there is lots of soap either being sold with the sponges, or in separate gift shops devoted entirely to soap.

The gift shops sell many different sizes and shapes of sponges. 

A variety of sponges

The shapes reminded me of food, so I thought I'd have a little fun and name the sponges accordingly (I was determined to make this trip more interesting than the last time I was here!):

Potato sponges

Chicken nugget sponges

Asparagus sponges

Corn cob sponges

Tortilla sponges

The townspeople found creative things to do with sponges.

A spongy smile

A sponge bicycle

In the 1920s, Florida's largest industry was sponging, with Tarpon Springs being the center of activity. It is just amazing to me that such an industry has grown to this extent. All this industry for the second lowest lifeform on earth (or as I said over 50 years ago, "a bunch of stupid sponges.")

After our sponging adventure, we walked down the main street of Tarpon Springs. Outside one of the shops, this one specializing in soap, an employee of the store handed me a small bar of soap and asked if I wanted it. I responded "Is it complimentary?" He replied, "No, it's soap." Okay, let's try this again. "Is it free?" He said all it costs is one big smile. Since I was already almost laughing by now, I walked away with a complimentary bar of soap. 

Before I leave the topic of sponges, one thing of note: there was no sign of SpongeBob SquarePants in Tarpon Springs.

After strolling down Dodecanese Street, we walked to a nearby shrine to St. Michael the Archangel. This peaceful shrine is located in a quiet, residential section of Tarpon Springs. The shrine was built to commemorate a 1940 miracle. Some of the other miracles that reportedly took place were that of a blind girl who regained her sight, a physically disabled person  who began walking again, a woman's hearing being restored, many cancer cures, and a lady who had been unable to conceive becoming pregnant. 

The inside of the shrine contained an ornate altar, murals of angels, and stained glass that provided lots of light and color in the small building. The shrine was very inspiring and a living reminder that prayers are answered!

St. Michael shrine

We then drove to Craig Park, which is the winter home to some of Florida's manatees. Apparently the Gulf of Mexico is too cold this time of year for the manatees, so they migrate inland and can be seen in local rivers, streams, and lakes. The park was a popular place, as there were quite a few other people there viewing the manatees, as well as some people sitting in their kayaks a few feet away observing the creatures.