Missed opportunities on a holiday in Greece

We recently took a trip to Greece, as part of what has now become an annual tradition to spend about
a week in an idyllic location with abundant sunshine, not too far from home. Aside from lavishly treating ourselves with much-needed sunshine and turquoise blue waters of the Aegean sea on the island of Mykonos, we also spent quality time exploring central Athens - the home of modern civilization. The holiday offered something for everyone - history, culture, adventure, and idleness. It was mostly perfect except for one thing, sustainability! And not because of anything else but for my own lack of planning and farsightedness in that context.

Ofcourse I had planned, I planned as best as I could, running around striking things off my list that I was certain I was going to need. I packed sunscreen lotions, hats, picnic blankets, beach toys, a flask to carry boiled water for my toddler, and even breakfast for our no-frills red-eye flight. So, I really thought I was on top of my game until we stepped out of our uber-modern Athenian apartment at noon of the first day itself!

With the sun shining bright and mercury touching well over 30 degrees, we found ourselves very thirsty very quickly. And the first stop was at a supermarket to buy a disposable bottle of water. This was a clear sign of things to come. We followed up the short walk with a leisurely lunch opposite the Acropolis museum, a street buzzing with restaurants and cafes while my son slept with careless abandon. We then headed to the Acropolis hill, our enthusiasm beating the tiredness (from heat and lack of sleep) into submission. While the hill loomed right above us, finding the main tourist entrance itself turned out to be quiet the hunt. We seemed to walk around in circles with virtually no signs giving directions to a historic site that attracts millions from around the world. Lo, behold, at last, with a lot of help from fellow pedestrians we got there. Now with renewed joy, standing at the foot of the Acropolis and within touching distance of the gigantic Parthenon, I didn't think twice about the options for refreshing ourselves. We bought fresh bottles of water and ice slushes that came in plastic cups complete with lids and straws!

We bought bottled water throughout our holiday, for want of cold water as indeed safe drinking water. The amount of plastic waste generated by us could have definitely been avoided had I thought of carrying another refillable flask to keep cold water. This is where my planning fell short and cost us (both in terms of money and plastic) a bit more than was warranted. Writing about this, I have flashes of the clunky water container that my family used to carry on train/road trips to store cold drinking water. This was an absolute necessity back in those days in India when packaged mineral water considered to be a luxury was only sparingly available. We have come a long way since then for sure, having found new solutions to old problems, while also creating newer problems!

On another account though, I  managed to do much better. For our five-day stay at a luxury resort in Mykonos, I used only one bar of soap thereby saving numerous small use & throw plastic bottles. This, however, didn't dissuade the housekeeping staff who diligently kept adding new bottles to our stock daily. My husband summed it up jokingly, 'those guys have targets too, you know!'.

All in all, it was a mixed bag, some things that I got right and some that I got very wrong. That's how life is I suppose, sometimes impeccably planned, sometimes chaotic in its spontaneity. But as long as there is the realisation of all those missed opportunities and a desire to do better the next time, we can give ourselves a good shot at living sustainably.

Are there any opportunities that you wish hadn't been missed?