Day 106
A highly-touted stop on the Great Loop is Tarpon Springs, FL. It is the sponge-fishing capital of the US on Florida’s “Forgotten Coast”, where Florida is still more like the Florida of the 1960s – more quaint and not so commercialized. When we first started learning about the Loop, visiting Tarpon Springs was one of the many things I’d looked forward to doing. Instead of ‘cutting the corner’ by crossing the gulf, many Loopers choose the “Big Bend” route, which is staying closer to Florida’s west coast by cruising from Carrabelle to Sea Hag Marina in Steinhatchee for the night, then on to Tarpon Springs, FL, the next day. But as I mentioned earlier, that route is best for boats with shallower drafts than Legacy, as Florida’s skinny waters in that area has caused more than one unfortunate boat to run aground, which Steve is extremely leery of happening to us. So, since our ‘across the gulf’ route would forego a stop at Tarpon Springs, I requested that we please take a day-trip to Tarpon Springs up from Clearwater Beach, if at all possible, because I didn’t want to miss it entirely. We had unofficially planned for Legacy to leave her slip at Clearwater Beach Municipal Marina on Saturday morning, 12/26/20, for regions south, but the day dawned far too windy and cold, and was predicted to stay that way all day, which was unfavorable for cruising. So, we decided to ride the free “Jolley Trolley” out of Clearwater Beach about 45 minutes up the coast to Tarpon Springs. We got around early that morning so we could meet the trolley at its stop next to the marina. We’d dressed warmly, carrying light jackets against the briskly cold winds (wait – aren’t we in FLORIDA? Why is it SO COLD?), but I ended up running back to our boat from the trolley stop to trade in my light jacket for my big, blue puffy coat that I fondly refer to as my Eskimo coat. I felt ridiculous walking around a Florida coastal town in such a huge coat, but it was a move I was glad I made because we endured biting winds for the entire day, even though the sun shone brightly and the air was wonderfully haze-free.
The trolley driver was friendly and entertaining and the car was only about half full, which was perfect. We were dropped off right in the middle of old Tarpon Springs, right next to a marina where many various sponge-fishing boats were tied. We could walk along right beside them checking them out, and we even got to one that had recently returned with its sponge haul, which was certainly impressive, but kind of hard on our olfactory systems!
We walked along the main streets of downtown, learning about the history of Tarpon Springs, and sponge-fishing specifically. We did our best to always stay on the sunny side of the streets to stay a tiny bit warmer. As always, I drug Steve in and out of several boutique shops until he led the way into a spices shop where I bought several tasty-sounding, Greek dried dip mixes. All I would need to make them was cream cheese, sour cream, or mayonnaise. My kind of recipes!
We chose Hella’s Restaurant for our Greek experience lunch, which is a must-do when visiting Tarpon Springs; heavily populated with the ancestors of early sponge-fishing settlers from Greece who migrated over to the US back in the 1890s looking for fresh supplies of sponges, as the sponge beds in Greece were waning at the time. Today, Tarpon Springs, FL, has the highest percentage of Greek Americans of any city in the US. There are many Greek restaurants to choose from in this town, and I wished we could’ve spent several days there, so I could sample more than just one of them. Regardless, our meal at Hella’s was wonderful, and we heard many happy cries of “OPA!” whenever the food arrived at other tables. 😊
After lunch, we visited the Spongeorama Sponge Factory, where we watched the very old, but free, video that chronicled the history of sponge-fishing, with its origin and importance in Tarpon Springs. The sign advertising the video promised to make its viewers into “sponge-diving experts” by the time they left the small theater, which we considered to be just one more feather in our caps! 😉 We learned the difference between sea sponges and loofahs, which – while often sold together – are two completely different things. Loofah is actually a fibrous fruit from an Old World climbing plant that grows above ground, rather than under the sea, but still possesses many of the same positive attributes as sponges. In fact, Steve wound up purchasing his very own loofah back-scrubber for the boat that afternoon! This was a major deal, because Steve rarely purchases any type of “souvenirs”.
After our sponge-diving lesson and subsequent purchase, we headed down the street to Yianni’s Greek Cuisine Restaurant for a late afternoon cocktail before catching the Jolley Trolley back to Clearwater Beach. Steve ordered an IPA (of course – beer snob…) and much to my delight, I was served TWO Sangrias, because it was happy hour! 😊 Even though it was super-cold outside, they were still delicious. (Of course, Steve ended up drinking half of my second Sangria, because I’m “too slow” and we were “going to miss our trolley” if he didn’t help me…)
Position: N 27° 58.582, W 82° 49.453
Marina Nights: 89