Tarpon Springs Florida Bus Trip
Written by Teresita Blanco (The Artsy Sister)
On October 30th, I went with my family to Tarpon Springs. We took a bus to got to the trip.
From Miami, it was a 5 hour trip to get to Tarpon Springs. We headed out there like super early.
The night before the bus trip, there was a cold front. By the time we got to the place, it was super cold and we had not brought a Jacket.
Tarpon Springs is by the coast, and it was raining. The first order of business was to buy a light jacket to warm up the limbs.
The weather eventually heated up around the afternoon, but the morning chill was not worth it.
We brought snacks on the bus, and our large party also had snacks as well. It seemed like a good way to test out our vaccines.
In Tarpon Spring, like Key West, the place seemed back to normal. It is nice to visit little cities that did not get hit by the plague too harshly.
Tarpon Springs is a Greek city in Florida. All the local businesses are owned by folks from Greece.
They have their flags and everything. It was a good place to buy a lot of Greek Stuff.
The first Greek experience was at a restaurant called Sponge Diver Supply. At least, that was the name of the store that was nearby.
Anyhow, I took enough photos of the place, so you should be able to find it pretty easily.
Food wise, it was adequate. Still, there was a place I liked better than that one. I am going to get around to telling you about it later.
So, after we ate at the place we bought our first number of random stuff. Here is a picture of the 3 souvenirs I bought for myself.
They were made in Greece by a Greek. When you are buying souvenirs, don’t forget to check the label. The items where about 30 bucks each.
They made good decorations for my bedroom. From there, we went to the main event. It was the Odyssey Cruise.
The boat was pretty steady, and we made a single stop to an Island to Collect Seashells by the Seashore.
When you are collecting shells, you need to make certain that they are not alive. IF you take a live one, you get a fine of 500 bucks.
A guy in our party had to give up all of his shells because he only took live ones. Aside from the shells, we saw a few dolphins.
I managed to photograph one beneath the water. After the dolphin section, they told us a bit of history.
The Spanish conquistadors where trying to take over the area, and they harmed a lot of Natives to get information about their freshwater supplies.
After they settled there, the shelter coast became a target for Pirates. One time a couple building a house there found a pirate treasure worth 5 million bucks.
So, if you are looking for pirate treasure Tarpon Springs is a good place to comb with a metal detector.
Another interesting factoid was about the weapons used by the Native Americans.
They would put sticks underwater so that shells would grow around them. These shell maces where so sharp that they could easily decapitate a Spaniard with a single blow.
They could also pierce steel armors. So, if you are looking for a fun gimmick weapon idea, a shell mace or sword is something worth trying out.
Aside from history, we got a mini biology lecture. We learned how seashell eggs and conches look.
We also got a lecture on how to sustainably harvest Sponges. If you leave the roots, the sponges grow back.
It is also better for the environment to use natural sponges, because the synthetic ones have chemicals.
Lastly, we saw a house that was used in movies, I forget which ones. I took a photo of it, so you might be able to recognize it.
At the end of this tour, we had one hour to roam about. We decided to visit Hellas Bakery.
The place was calling to me, or maybe it was my stomach. We bought a bunch of random Sweets.
I took a photo of the sampler box that we did not eat on the spot. It also had gourmet ice cream, but I opted for something I could transport. All in all, the trip was worth it for the shells, the souvenirs, and the snacks.
So, if you are looking for a good place to visit, with excellent food Tarpon Springs is the place to visit. This is Teresita Blanco, the Artsy Sister. Bye, Bye and God bless.
