Sponge Docks, Florida - A must see for Visitors to the Port Richey Area

 The Sponge Dock in Tarpon Springs, Florida is a working seaport.

In the late 1800's people discovered that sponges could be harvested at the Gulf of Mexico in the sea bed rich with sponges. 

A bronze statute at Sponge Dock, Tarpon Springs, to Honour the Sponge Divers 

In the 1900’s experienced sponge divers were recruited from Greece to come to Tarpon Springs to harvest the sponges. 

A wall mural depicting the sponge divers at Sponge Dock ,  Tarpon Springs, Florida

By 1905, there were more than 500 sponge divers and thirty sponge boats working to harvest the sponges.

A Greek pastry shop at the Sponge Dock

With so many sponge divers working in the area, this created a demand for eating places for the crews. 



Restaurants started to open at the docks. 

A very busy pastry cafe indeed!

As the sponge industry grew, visitors started coming to see and buy the sponges. 

Shops were opened so that people could buy sponges and souvenirs.

During our visit to the Sponge Dock, we learned about the different types of natural sponges harvested by the divers. 

I was surprised to see the wide variety of beautifully shapes  sponges such as the vase and the wool sponges.

A wall mural depicting the sponge divers at Sponge Dock ,  Tarpon Springs, Florida

These sponge divers go down from 15 feet to 60 feet to harvest the sponges. For better quality of sponges, they even dive down as deep as 100 feet under the sea.

The Sponge Dock is a beautiful vibrant neighbourhood in Tarpon Springs.

Walking along the Sponge Dock, we felt as if we were in a Greek village.  

There were patio tables and chairs outside the pastry restaurants and cafés. 

There were numerous gifts and souvenir shops lining the streets selling all kinds of sponges, sea shells,  clothing and accessories.

Sponges hanging from one of the diving boats

We also saw fishing boats,  sponge boats, recreational, sailing and tour boats docked by the waterfront  beckoning curious visitors to come closer for a look.













                                                                          

The place  has a nice warm ambiance to it.  

We enjoyed visiting the Sponge Dock so much that we returned for a second visit a couple days later.















We had dinner twice at the local restaurants  during our stay in Florida.

The first time we ate by the water at Limani and introduced our friend to Greek food.














He had gyros for the first time in his life. He loved it! 

The second time we ate at Mama’s at the Sponge Docks.

We were given a free dish - saganaki ( flaming cheese), a very popular appetizer.

We tried saganaki ( flaming cheese) a popular appetizer

The serving lady brought out the dish and lit it in front of the diners before it was served.

The first time we tried it and it was very good!

While D. ordered the gyro again, we had grilled octopus and moussaka as our main courses.

After dinner, we strolled around this Greek like fishing village neighbourhood.

We saw men only gathering in cafes enjoying conversation and smoke, a typical Greek village scene.










We enjoyed our visits to the Sponge Dock tremendously and highly recommend it to visitors to the area.

R.T.
Sponge Dock
Tarpon Springs, Florida