Farewell visit with Fulbrighter from ULIM, visit to Tarpon Springs

Happy to report that we were able to see the Fulbrighter from ULIM (who had been conducting research at USF Tampa), Svetlana, before she had to return to Moldova.

She wanted to go to Tarpon Springs, the destination for an upcoming Fulbright Association event that she would have to miss.

As the tourist website  http://spongedocks.net/ declaraes

"The Sponge Industry helped build a Greek Community that is now famous not only for the worlds finest sponges, but for some of the finest Greek Restaurants, Markets, and Bakeries in the Country. What will you find in Tarpon Springs? The Sponge Docks, Greek Restaurants, Bakeries, Attractions, Natural Sponges, Sponge Diving, Tours, Sightseeing Cruises, Unique Greek and Florida Souvenirs, lots of Shopping, Sightseeing and Live Entertainment (Bouzoukia)."

We had a delightful afternoon in Tarpon -- highlights were the sightseeing cruise with a sponge diver who gave us a demonstration (and I learned about the 5 kinds of sponges you see pictured below) and the dinner and dessert at Hellas.

We wish we had more time to visit with Svetlana -- but we will look forward to greeting her on our next trip to Moldova!

Now I know more about the sponges that we occasionally see at the beach

We really enjoyed learning more about sponge diving