A Small community of around 20,000 people, Tarpon Springs is a very busy little town when the tourists arrive. The name Tarpon comes from the Tarpon fish that is found in the surrounding coastal waters. Tarpon Springs is well known for it's sponge industry. Many Greek immigrants arrived here between 1905 to 1910 to continue their tradition of sponge diving.

In 1947 the industry was wiped out by an algae bloom, also called Red Tide. With the death of the sponge industry, many of the boats were switched over to fishing and shrimping. Most of the warehouses that were once used for the sponge industry are now used as tourist attractions.

Most of the sponges and shells that are sold in the many small shops along the old sponge docks are now imported. In the late 1980's the sponge industry in Tarpon Springs was making a comeback. In the fall of 2007, a single boat brought in a record number of sponges. It would seem that the sponge industry in Tarpon Springs is on it's way back.

This part of Tarpon Springs is where most of the action is. With the many shops, restaurants, museums, and art galleries, there's no shortage of things to see and eat. I really enjoyed their restaurants and cafes. We Canadians love our coffee and I found the best cup of coffee of my whole trip at one of these cafes. Their pastries are wonderful, and of course they go well with the great coffee.

If you have a need for a sponge than this is the place to be. They have sponges for everything, and all different sizes. I always thought that a sponge is a sponge, but that's not true. There are many different varieties of sponges, and they have many different uses also. One of the larger shops runs a short movie in the back of it's store that will show you the history of the sponge industry in Tarpon Springs.

Many opportunities are available for those who enjoy deep sea fishing. If you just want to take a boat ride down the Anclote River, or even out to the Gulf of Mexico than there are many options to choose from. While wondering down the docks I checked out some of the prices and they seem to be reasonable.

Tarpon Springs is a great place to spend a day. Most of our day was spent on this one street and we never ran out of things to see or do. I enjoyed wandering down the street and visiting the many shops and galleries that fill this street. Of course my favorite stops were for the coffee and the pastries.

One of my favourite stops while walking down Dodecanese Blvd was the Tarpon Springs Aquarium. They have many different species of fish in the 120,000 gallon tank, including Sharks and Tarpon. They also have alligators, eels, stingrays, and snakes. They have specific times during the day that you can watch them feed the alligators and the sharks. Tarpon Springs Aquarium has it all, and the price was reasonable.

After you are done looking at the many varieties of fish in the huge tank, you can go to the "Touch Tank" where you are able to touch and feed stingray's and small sharks. For a few dollars you can purchase some food and feed them. If you hold your hand flat with the food in the centre, the stingrays will come over and take off your hand. Now this was worth the admission price itself.

I spent a lot of time in the aquarium and shot as many pictures as I could. Below you will see some of those pictures.