Restaurateur Monica Greene of Monica’s Mex-Tex Cantina is no stranger to traveling the world. An innate sense of adventure that has grown stronger with age has led her to visit Bali, Germany, France, Spain, and countless other exotic locales, but one journey stands above the rest—a solo voyage, with four crew members, through the Aegean Sea in a wooden sailing vessel called a gulet. She began her trek in Bodrum, Turkey, setting sail on the crystal-blue waters while listening to the sounds of Mozart at launch. “I was in control of my own destiny,” she says. “I could go wherever I wanted.”
With the wind rustling through the sails and music playing through the speakers, Greene was ready for a trip of a lifetime that would prove to be enlightening and memorable. Making her way through the beautiful Aegean Sea with stops along countless Turkish and Grecian islands, she immersed herself in the beauty of the landscape and also the beauty of the people she met. “As humans, we are all seeking the same thing. We all want happiness,” she says.
As the journey continued, Greene stopped at her favorite destination on the whole trip, Rhodes, Greece. This historic island bursting with medieval architecture and walled surroundings proved to be a pivotal moment of her trip, as she happens to be a history buff. “Walking through this city echoes monumental history,” Monica says. “You can close your eyes and imagine being transplanted centuries back.”
With countless memories made and an adventurous spirit that cannot be tamed, Greene has and will continue to embark on daring journeys that teach her valuable life lessons. “By trying to discover the world, I’ve discovered myself,” she says.
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