Duncan Ridgley

Breb is different to Siwa, yet in some ways so similar. Getting anything done here is hard work and needs to be re-negotiated, sometimes nail by nail. The standards we want for our guests are different from local expectations, so we often have locals building houses with little idea of how they will look when finished. It’s been hard work and frequently frustrating, but I have enjoyed working with ‘The Boys’ to build our villas and cabanas and learning their traditional ways of working with mud walls and using a pair of crowbars and chainsaw to build a house..

We are hands-on here and, a part from it meaning we get things done, it also integrates us with the local community. Below is me driving our little red tractor after clearing the land on Lăcşoare for firewood.

I am enjoying learning about the Maramures and gypsy cultures – which I find fascinating. As our offering gets established here I am enjoying taking our guests around our village and the surrounding areas, exploring the valleys and museums and the slow laid back pace of life. When you come and stay with us in Breb, I will take you round to meet the old boys and to share a glass of Horinca with them, or two  We are about to ‘adopt’ an old couple who have no children, it’s a big commitment, but one we want as it will allow them to retire. So when you’re here, we’ll take you over to meet them. Below is me and the boys putting up the cabana on Zapode. To see more about me have a look at my profile in the Siwa Team section. We had an idea in 2002, to go off and live somewhere different, it took awhile and we took a few wrong turnings on the way, enough to write a book... but we’ve done it. I look forward to meeting you and sharing our little world with you when you come and stay ‘Somewhere Different’.