A Valentine Voyage

one of many boats docked
on the Anclote River

Although last week's adventure (and resulting blog post, "Island Hopping to Key West") was enough to satisfy any of the wanderlust the two of us have, with this week's Valentine holiday, we decided to observe it in a special way. 

Of course with our usual pre-dawn* coffee there was the exchange of cards and chocolate. 

*Early to bed,

early to rise,

makes a man healthy,

wealthy, and wise.

Benjamin Franklin

headstone blurred for reasons of privacy

Then we drove to the cemetery to place flowers at the graves of our Valentines from years gone by.

headstone blurred for reasons of privacy

They are never forgotten, always in our hearts. They helped make us who we are, and without a doubt prepared us for where we are today.

Dodecanese Blvd.

Then we drove the nearly 70 remaining miles to Tarpon Springs, on the Gulf coast, located north of Clearwater. For those who have not heard of this place, it is the "Sponge Capital of the World," a leader in the global natural sponge market. Home to the Sponge Docks, visitors can see the sponge industry from harvesting to auctions. (thank you, Wikipedia, for this information) 

This fishing village is known for its very Greek style, white-columned Hellas Authentic Greek Cuisine Restaurant and Bakery. After parking our car, that was our intended destination, but we first needed to get our tickets for a boat tour. If we learned nothing else from our trip to Key West last week, we knew to secure tickets for such tours sooner rather than later, then do all the other things that can be more flexible.

We hoofed it down the street (past our lunch choice) to find the ticket window for the boat, and not seeing it, we had to retrace our steps to discover the address on their website was actually a white tent near this plaque on the waterfront. Okay, that was a little strange, but our tickets were purchased without a problem. 

ticket stubs

By this time we were some distance from the famous Hellas. We didn't want to get too far away lest we miss our boat's launch time in a little over an hour. Dimitri's was literally just next door and highly recommended, so that's what got our lunch money that day.

Dimitri's
https://dimitrisonthewater.com

Any thoughts of regret for not dining at Hellas vanished when I realized our lunch would be on the water, while Hellas was on the other side of the street (NOT on the water). My long-time blog readers may remember that one of my very favorite things about Florida is to eat on the water (a treat not so common in my former Colorado home). 

me, waiting to order
(east is behind me)

Gary, waiting to order
(west is behind him)

Tarpon Springs sits on the Anclote River, which pretty much runs east to west, emptying out into the Gulf of Mexico (or Gulf of America, per President Trump).

menu at Dimitri's

I wanted to embrace the culture, so my order was the Moussaka. 

If you have seen the chick flick, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you may remember mention of this dish in the school lunch room. It's pretty much a Greek version of lasagna made with baked or pan-fried eggplants, potatoes, a rich beef or lamb sauce, and topped off with a creamy béchamel sauce. Considered a comfort food, I definitely agree!

the moussaka wasn't quite as large as this picture shows

As you can see, the servings were generous. My Moussaka was a surprising large serving, although this picture makes it look more generous than it actually was. But with that said, there was no way I could finish it all, and since we were a 2-hour drive away from home, plus a 90-minute boat tour, I knew it was not wise to ask for a doggy bag. I ate a little over half of it and had to leave the rest. But it was very good. Gary enjoyed his burger and fries.

kayakers on the river

As to be expected, we saw lots of marine traffic go past our table on the literal water's edge. The weather was perfect for all of it. I highly recommend Dimitri's food and the waterfront tables, the service was good, and the rest rooms clean.

our tour boat

The timing of our lunch and the launch of our tour boat was perfect. We climbed this metal staircase and stepped onto that wide orange lip of the boat (with help from the crew members) to get on. That was a little dicey but okay. The seating was wood benches lining the outer part and more benches in the middle. We sat on the edge and I'm so glad we did. We could see and hear (relatively) everything. 

the sponge diver, in his 60s, 
and from Cheyenne, Wyoming!

We were able to watch the laborious process of the diver putting on his suit, which as you can see, is quite bulky, and heavy.

me

Before he put on his helmet, passengers were encouraged to try it on themselves. I was the first to step forward. While I did not line up the windows with my face, I could easily see Gary snapping my picture. I had to smile to myself -- this headgear gave illustration to the popular hair style from about 20 years ago, "Helmet Head."

Anclote River

While this voluntary 'fashion show' was in progress, the diver continued to get geared up for his dive. The boat captain described what is involved with diving for these natural sea sponges. They are the second lowest form of life, just above the amoeba, and invertebrate animal. Thriving in abundance all along the Gulf coast waters from the Big Bend area (north of Tarpon Springs) clear down to Key West. 

diver under water

When our diver dropped into the water, the depth at this spot was about 14 -20 feet. He had an air hose and another rope that was used for communication purposes (pull if in trouble). 

diver with a sponge he had just harvested

From the deeper location, he walked under water to a depth of only about 5 or 6 feet where he used a grabbing, fork-like tool to pull a sponge from where it was attached on the river floor. 

diver returns to the boat

In total on this trip, the diver was probably in the water no longer than about 15 minutes before he climbed back into the boat -- with help. 

am I helping???

Our diver said he has no need to go to a gym for exercise. The weight of the suit, helmet, and shoes, combined with navigating himself both in the boat, in the water, and climbing in and out requires a great deal of physical strength. In his 60s, I don't know how he does it.

Again, we were encouraged to have our snapshot taken with the diver. Just as with the spirit of embracing the experience with ordering Moussaka and trying on the diving helmet, I got this picture taken, too. (it's all blog fodder, after all!!)

the freshly-harvested sea sponge

The sponge he harvested was passed around to everyone. They are black like this under water.  The slimy black stuff is cleaned through a somewhat laborious effort and then they are put out to dry.

cleaned sponges drying on a boat

While we typically see these sponges as brown or a golden yellow, when harvested from the river floor they are covered with a black slime.

This boat tour was good, well worth the money because we saw so much, were educated on sponges, and got plenty of show'n tell in the process.

sea sponge art

After we exited the boat, we began the walk back to our car, with some shopping along the way (of course!). Since we are bikers (bicycles, not motorcycles), I had to capture this example of art using the sponges.

logo on my shirt front

Just as with our shopping in Key West and the Everglades last week, my primary purchases are refrigerator magnets and T-shirts. I did not find any magnets that I liked (I'm very particular on that), but Gary got this T-shirt for me, which I modeled after we got home:

Salty air
Messy Hair
Don't care
Tarpon Springs, FL

While we did not have a meal at Hellas, we did stand in a long line to buy Baklava from their equally famous bakery. Not an inexpensive purchase, one has to appreciate the price when examining the product. 

a slice of Baklava

It was way too sticky to eat in the car on the way home, so last night we enjoyed some of it. Look closely to see the extremely thin, very fine layers of phyllo dough that make this treat so special. Below those layers is a delightful mixture of nuts and honey.

I have said many times over the past three years that ours is a "Hallmark movie romance." Many of our friends have said the same.

While Gary has agreed, he is NOT a chick-flick kinda guy. Cops 'n robbers, westerns, FOX news, and Leave It To Beaver comprise his entertainment preferences. Oh, and car racing. We like to watch the races..... the Daytona 500 is tomorrow (weather-permitting. They've already changed the start time due to predicted rain.)

However, since he is a nice guy and affectionately aims to please me, plus perhaps the fact that it was Valentine's Day, he agreed to put my DVD copy of My Big Fat Greek Wedding into the TV to cap off our wonderful day.

How shall I bring this post to a close? What Bible verse seems applicable? A lot, of course. I am struck with the wonders of God's creation of earth as well as how He has enabled humans to explore, to discover, and to put to very practical use what we find.

A favorite verse I've shared with you many times is this:

Call unto me

and I will answer thee

and will show you

great and mighty things

you know nothing about.

Jeremiah 33:3

Until next time, grace and peace.