We are in Cape Sounio on the tip of Attica, near the ancient and beautiful
Temple of Poseidon, where King Aegeus waited for his son Theseus to return
after slaying the minotaur. And it is pouring with rain.
But Joseph Maragoudakis, the agronomist at the Grecotel Cape Sounio, couldn't
be more delighted by the deluge. “The soil is baked, it's so thirsty - we
really need water,” he grins.
He has come to give my children, Holly, 8, and Rory, 4, a tour of the
eco-friendly landscaped hotel gardens and a taster of the hotel's
“Ambassadors of the Environment” children's programme.
This eco scheme was devised by marine biologist Jean-Michel Cousteau to help
children to “reconnect” with nature. Grecotel, which thinks it is probably
the only resort hotel group to employ a professional environmentalist and
agronomist to develop organic produce and create eco-friendly gardens,
opened it this year at the five-star Cape Sounio.
Activities for four to twelve-year-olds range from underwater photography,
snorkelling and kayaking to experimenting with solar power and “terrestrial
ecology”, or Smell, Taste and No Waste.
“We want the children to learn about saving water, composting and how to grow
things in a coastal habitat without using lots of pesticides,” says Joseph,
who has worked at the hotel since it opened in 2004 when the gardens were
nothing more than barren rock, and who draws on tales from Greek myths to
make the eco-message more entertaining.
As the weather clears we set off to the olive trees by the swimming pool.
Olive trees are a symbol of Greece, he explains, before telling the story of
the goddess Athena, who fought with Poseidon over who would protect the
settlements that would become Athens. Athena planted the first olive tree
and won and the Parthenon was built in her honour.
“You can use nearly every part of an olive tree,” he adds - the fruit for
eating, the leaves for compost and the wood for burning. As confirmed
olive-haters, Holly and Rory are less impressed by this than the luscious
bunches of sweet grapes hanging on vines near our bungalow, one of which
they're allowed to pick - and scoff.
They also do a lot of sniffing, scrunching and fondling of herbs and then we
move on up to the vegetable garden.
The scruffy plot is, to put it politely, a work in progress, but illustrates
the point that nothing gets wasted - the greenhouse is made from materials
that the hotel would otherwise have thrown away and the rotting yellowing
aubergines and pumpkins will be mulched down. The tour ends with some
blindfolded vegetable tasting - the only way my two would eat a raw pepper
without hardcore bribery.
After a huge organic buffet dinner we also manage some star-gazing, looking
for constellations with an Ancient Greek myth to tell. As we're 40 miles
from Athens the night sky is black and the view over to the backlit Temple
of Poseidon on the headland is truly magical.
Grecotel, the largest hotel chain in Greece, is proud of its green
credentials: it set up an environmental department back in 1992; persuaded
Coca-Cola to reintroduce returnable glass bottles to Greece rather than
plastic; and set up a traditional farm in Crete which supplies many of its
hotels with organic produce.
But it is in the luxury hotels business and you can stay at Cape Sounio
without missing out on any creature comforts. It is also a great place to
relax, knowing that your children are learning about saving the planet
rather than stringing beads in the children's club. And if they get bored
they can always help Joseph with his composting.
Need to know
Grecotel Cape Sounio (00 30 210 728 0417, www.grecotel.com)
has two-bedroom family bungalows, from €595 (about £474) per night. The
Ambassadors of the Environment programme, which runs to October, starts at
£44 per child for a three-hour session.
Getting there British Airways (0870 8509850, www.ba.com)
offers flights from Heathrow to Athens from £135 return.
Hotels with green messages for kids
Ritz-Carlton Grand Caymen
The Caribbean home of the Ambasssadors of the Environment programme emphasises
marine exploration. A naturalist accompanies children on snorkelling
adventures, including trips to the reef, and a night snorkel to see how the
reef is transformed after the sun goes down. There's also mangrove kayaking.
A room sleeping up to four starts at £200 a night.
Details: 001 345 943 9000, www.ritz-carlton.com
Small Hope Bay, Andros, Bahamas
This long-established family dive resort near the Andros barrier reef has
Young Rangers and Young Naturalist programmes. These are self-guided nature
trips that allow them to explore and learn about the environment around
Small Hope Bay, and there's a reference library in the hotel where they can
research on their discoveries. The dive programme includes snorkelling
safaris and free scuba instruction for the over-10s. The all-inclusive daily
rate starts at £100 for adults and £45 for children aged 2-12.
Details: 001 242 368 2014, www.smallhope.com
Cuixmala, Mexico
This beachfront hotel near Manzanillo has a resident biologist who will take
children on activities that include releasing baby turtles back in to the
sea at night. A two-bedroom casita sleeping two adults and up to three
children starts at £300 a night, including breakfast.
Details: 00 52 315 35 10044, www.cuixmala.com
Green? Apart from the flights too and from!
David Leslie, Perth, Scotland