Well that was fun!

For the past 11 days I was host to four Very Important People from Canada: The Marcus' (my parents!) and the Bakers. These people have been friends for a very long time, and have created a lot of mischief together, but perhaps nothing as far-away and foreign as Cairo.

If you know my dad, you know that it was amazing just to get him here. When I signed up for this gig, he said "I won't come visit." The night I flew out he changed his mind.

The biggest highlight for me was seeing Cairo through their fresh eyes again. It reminded me how far I've come in terms of familiarity with this city and with my understanding of the Egyptian way of life. Of course I still have a very long way to go too!

We hired "Mostafa the driver" and his '87 Peugeot station wagon for most of our transportation needs, but I still managed to lose the Bakers at least once to the only taxi driver in Cairo who couldn't find the Nile.

Our brave travelers were at my mercy, only occasionally reminding me that they were here for a holiday, not an olympic competition in site-seeing. All four tried stuffed pigeon, and countless other dips and sauces. Meals were a high light of the trip. In one day we visited all 3 pyramid sites: Sakkara, Dashur and of course Giza.

Hugo, Marilyn and Sally all took their turn "riding" a camel while I took videos and snapped away. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the Executive Director! :)


The favourite for all was a 4 day cruise on the Nile from Aswan to Luxor. We sat in the 38 C heat, and when absolutely necessary we left the boat to explore an old temple or the High Dam. The Nile is a source of life and energy for this country, and that was seen so clearly from the deck of the Jazz Mervat.

Visitors are always welcome here in Cairo, and although I can't guarantee as much of my attention as these four got last week, I can guarantee a million memories and about that many laughs as well.