I thought I had found the perfect person to manage the property for me. And she was a masseuse as well! Sadly it didn't work out as her family commitments were too onerous. However, I got lucky!
When staying here for a long time, an American friend of mine got to know a family. He did this by sitting, completely soaked in the only clothes he had with him for months (he washed them every day and didn't smell) on an air-conditioned bus, next to Brayen.
Brayen is a brave soul who likes to help others and, surmising that there must be a problem if a 40 something American law professor is wearing wet clothes, he struck up a conversation. This ended up in a friendship starting and my friend staying with Brayen's family. I did likewise the last time I was here and found them charming.
Brayen and I stayed in touch as he fell in love with a Russian girl he met on the net (I know this sounds dodgy but if you heard the whole story you would be forced to say "ahhh!" and crush your cynical thoughts). He then married her.
He's now in Russia with her and then they're both coming here. They will manage my place!
It happened on our journey back from Columbo the day I was leaving for Dubai when I finally said "oh, I wish you weren't going to Russia and could do massage. You'd be perfect to help me run this place and you could run a cafe on the deck when guests aren't here." He said "oh, I'd love to do that".
It's all about the communication!
We have found a work around to the massage problem (I already know 2 ladies who will travel, with chaperone, here) and now I have the perfect manager. Brayen speaks great English and knows a lot about a lot of useful things For example, he brought wild cashew nuts this morning and told me about the acid in them! In fact, apparently there's a flower you can eat on the same tree. He also knows how to find the only shop in Columbo that deals with apple macs.
His family are pretty well known around the area and seem respected. He can cook. His mother is a tailor (does great work) and his father owns a fishing boat. They are the most honest people I've met.
I don't know much about Julia except she comes from a small town in the North of Russia. She's learning lots of languages and dreams of being a translator. She seemed sweet the one time I spoke to her on the phone.
Perhaps best of all, Brayen also worked in a 5 star hotel in Columbo and completely gets how to leave people who stay here alone to enjoy their privacy whilst still giving them everything they want, showing them around and letting them understand what's going on around them. That's all I want!
And yes I realise the photos are fabulously romantic. That is Brayen.
When staying here for a long time, an American friend of mine got to know a family. He did this by sitting, completely soaked in the only clothes he had with him for months (he washed them every day and didn't smell) on an air-conditioned bus, next to Brayen.
Brayen is a brave soul who likes to help others and, surmising that there must be a problem if a 40 something American law professor is wearing wet clothes, he struck up a conversation. This ended up in a friendship starting and my friend staying with Brayen's family. I did likewise the last time I was here and found them charming.
It happened on our journey back from Columbo the day I was leaving for Dubai when I finally said "oh, I wish you weren't going to Russia and could do massage. You'd be perfect to help me run this place and you could run a cafe on the deck when guests aren't here." He said "oh, I'd love to do that".
It's all about the communication!
We have found a work around to the massage problem (I already know 2 ladies who will travel, with chaperone, here) and now I have the perfect manager. Brayen speaks great English and knows a lot about a lot of useful things For example, he brought wild cashew nuts this morning and told me about the acid in them! In fact, apparently there's a flower you can eat on the same tree. He also knows how to find the only shop in Columbo that deals with apple macs.
His family are pretty well known around the area and seem respected. He can cook. His mother is a tailor (does great work) and his father owns a fishing boat. They are the most honest people I've met.
I don't know much about Julia except she comes from a small town in the North of Russia. She's learning lots of languages and dreams of being a translator. She seemed sweet the one time I spoke to her on the phone.
Perhaps best of all, Brayen also worked in a 5 star hotel in Columbo and completely gets how to leave people who stay here alone to enjoy their privacy whilst still giving them everything they want, showing them around and letting them understand what's going on around them. That's all I want!
And yes I realise the photos are fabulously romantic. That is Brayen.
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