WRITTEN by JOHN MORRIS Milan to Roatan… back to shorts and flip flops! Winston Churchill once said, “Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential.” Nothing could be truer with my wife and me. While we spent hours and hours planning our Italian adventure, we ended up following very little of it… as usual. You see, if we’re not as happy as we thought we would be in a...
WRITTEN by JOHN MORRIS From Italy to Roatan and back… is tele-transportation possible? Throughout Tuscany, the countryside is dotted with ancient hilltop towns left over from the days of the Roman Empire. Many have been restored and are now tourist destinations visited by folks from all over the world. Chances are that if you have seen the movie Under the Tuscan Sun starring Diane Lane as...
WRITTEN by JOHN MORRIS Roatan to Italy, the holiday adventure continues I did not know Angelino, but he was the father of the husband of my wife’s cousin. His passing was sudden in spite of his 87 years, so we followed the Italian tradition of viewings, church service and burial. The church was freezing cold at 10:30 in the morning and the priest, even with my limited Italian, sounded like...
WRITTEN by JOHN MORRIS Roatan Island to Milan, Italy In 1982 the now mostly-forgotten all girl band, The Go-Go’s, released their hit song Vacation with the cover photo showing Belinda Carlisle and her band mates belting the song out while on water skis. Vacation, all I ever wanted Vacation, had to get away… Don’t we all dream of vacation? We work endlessly for the sacred one or two weeks...
WRITTEN by JOHN MORRIS Finding romance on Roatan Island In 1978, my high school graduation year, John Paul Young had a big hit on the airwaves. Love is in the air, in the whisper of the tree Love is in the air, in the thunder of the sea And I don't know if I'm just dreaming Don't know if I feel safe But it's something that I must believe in And it's there when you call out my name My wife...
WRITTEN by JOHN MORRIS On Roatan, it’s easier than you think! So you did it. You purchased a property – a house or a plot of land – in a foreign country… on the island of Roatan. What next? (If you plan to build, that’s a whole other blog in itself.) Questions will fill your head. Taxes, maintenance, property management, insurance, buying a car, driver’s license, residency,...
WRITTEN by JOHN MORRIS Roatan’s vibrant music scene is waiting for you If you have not seen any of the Playing for Change videos, get on YouTube and search. I promise it will be worthwhile. The concept is to pick a song and have musicians from all over the world add to the final composition, putting a whole new twist to the song. My top choice being Listen to the Music by one of my favorite...
WRITTEN by JOHN MORRIS Notions of first-time travelers to Roatan The term Third World country originated out of the Cold War Era during the 1950’s and 1960’s referring to countries that were not associated either with the NATO group of nations or the Communist Bloc. Often former colonies, the countries inheriting this designation were later referred to as Developing Countries which...
WRITTEN by JOHN MORRIS Roatan taxis keep the island moving… I love the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles. It’s a traditional Thanksgiving feel-good film about two strange bedfellows and their impossible journey to get home for the holidays. Here on the island, we have no trains – though some think it would be a good idea – and we all arrive by plane or boat. But once you get here,...
WRITTEN by JOHN MORRIS Excellence is in the details… “Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and died that distinguish one from another.” —Ernest Hemingway So you want to sell your house or land. Whether it be on Roatan or anywhere else in the world, the more prepared you are… the better the chances it will move quickly. And this my friends, has...