At Sequoia

Had a lovely late lunch with Rita at one of Cairo’s best River Nile dining locations. Always a treat to go there. I’ve known Rita for quite a while so it was great to catch up. We met through writer’s group, and her daughter was a great friend too when she lived in Cairo.

After dinner she dropped me the other side of the bridge from my hotel. Crossing the Nile at night is always fun; party boats with loud music, local lads, some with girlfriends gazing down into the river, families strolling, horse and cart rides, and traffic - lots of it, with music blaring and horns beeping. This city is not for the faint hearted! Sometimes I wondered how I survived, other times I loved the energy!

The morning was spent with a former colleague E, and her two children at the Swiss Club. Nice to chat and catch up on news. Also good to sit in a garden with grass and lovely plants. It’s a rare sanctuary in Cairo, tucked away in one of the poorer areas. Walking through there I was struck how this is still my normal in some way, but not necessarily always easy to do with the poverty and rubbish. But a strong spirit prevails.