Egypt/Canada - Week of September 13, 2026

Salaam/Hello/Bonjour,

Warm Canadian welcome from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada! I'm back in my home country as of Monday, September 14. Thankfully I 'sailed' through Canadian immigration. My Bajan friend Sam asks me what I would do if Canadian immigration suddenly preventing me from entering the country. That would be an unwelcome surprise! Sam reassures me that Barbados would welcome me with open arms!

I'm delighted and honored you've joined in my latest week of adventure. I'm going to try something new in the weeks ahead. I'm asking/encouraging you to share your thoughts about what you read in my blog posts, ask questions or tell a funny joke. Yes, you do need to sign into your Google account to do so. Love to hear what you're thinking as you interact with the content I share. 

Ines and Trista

I've been mulling over how I've been reacting to my recent travel experiences in Albania and Egypt. There is an undercurrent of negativity that is creeping into my comments. For example, I'm reticent to return to Egypt because it seemed to me that all the locals I met seemed to have their hand out for money. As harsh as this may sound, I've relinquished my deemed responsibility for redistributing wealth throughout the world. The liability in making this comment is that the majority of places I visited were key tourist destinations which is unrepresentative of the country as a whole. 

I'm now considering taking a break from traveling once I return from the Seychelles. I'm concerned I'm losing valuable perspective on the blessing afforded to me through my travels. I'm appreciative of how the universe has blessed me in my travels over the past two years. Maybe the right time to stop and count my blessings. One option I'm considering is finding a location with a temperate climate where I can enjoy the people and the surroundings. Yes, I'd prefer to avoid winter/colder temperatures!!🥶 Stay tuned!

An important personal accomplishment in the past week has been reducing my monthly mobile phone bill by $30 Cdn ($21 USD) and increased the services I receive. I stopped by a phone company kiosk to ask if how I might reduce my monthly bill. As odd as this may sound, I reduced my bill by signing a two year contract to buy an inexpensive Android phone. On the services side, I now have 'true unlimited' data, unlimited phone calls throughout North America and unlimited phone calls in sixteen additional countries including Japan. I

You'll notice far less photos in this week's blog. I've been slow to recast my return to Canada as a tourist adventure. I do want to share Canada's magnificence and beauty so you are enticed to visit my great country. There is so much we have to offer to you when you visit. I look to improve my effort in next week's blog post!

May the universe bring endless blessings and moments of magic 🦄  to you and your loved ones in the week ahead. 🙏

Travel Administration

I'm sharing some general advice I received from a dear friend when I was in the midst of my divorce. When I mentioned to my friend about all the costs I was incurring because of the divorce proceedings, she shared the following insightful comment: 'Count yourself lucky if it's only costing you money'. I've carried her comment with me ever since. I've also applied her comment across various situations in my life. As valuable as money is as a resource (imagine the challenge of living your life without money), we need to cognizant of the trade-offs we are making when we are considering options that include money. The universe has its way in testing our resolve between our values and the financial implications of maintaining our values. Food for thought!

Travel Update

So much for holding fast to my travel schedule for October. I've shortened my Wisconsin visit. I'll travel from Toronto to Eau Claire via Minneapolis on October 2 as planned. I'm now returning to Toronto on Sunday, October 18 so I can board a return flight from Toronto to Istanbul, departing October 19; returning October 28. I head to Barbados on October 30 as originally planned. I return to Canada on November 20 with plans to board my flight to Seychelles, via Istanbul, on November 27.

Travel Maps

With Turkish Airline's capable assistance, I flew to Toronto, via Istanbul, on Monday with a brief layover in Istanbul. I also had a day trip to Montreal, Quebec on Saturday to visit with friends. 

Egypt: September 5, 2026 to September 14, 2026

Intercountry Travel: Cairo, Egypt to Toronto, Canada - September 14

Canada: September 14, 2026 to October 2, 2026

Cairo

I had an extra night in Cairo after my tour ended given the Turkish Airline flight I had booked. I confess to raising a minor stink about how far I had to walk to reach my room for the next two nights. My belief was the hotel allocated the 'less desirable' rooms to the numerous tour groups using this hotel. While the reception team tried to convince me that I was wrong, I soon had evidence to the contrary. BTW - I was prepared to stay in my initial room - I just needed to share my displeasure at how I thought I was being treated. 

After considerable initial resistance, Muhammed, the reception manager suddenly found a room that was much closer. I happily relocated to a room that was finished with superior materials than my initial room. Muhammed and I became fast friends over my remaining time at the hotel. He said I was like his father affording me the same respect. 

Dinner

I had the most unexpected and welcome blessing for my last night in Cairo. Kerry and her sister Jamee, who I introduced from my tour group last week, invited me to join them for dinner at a restaurant that had a view of the Grand Pyramid from its rooftop. What a gift! I only wish the pyramid had been better illuminated after sunset!

My friends also cared enough to offer sound advice to a personal situation I was mulling over. Kerry's specific advice helped me realize that I had lapsed to running my travel life on autopilot. Like she noted to me, I had the utmost flexibility in my travel plans so I was free to make any changes I needed to address what I was mulling over. Invaluable wake-up call. I am grateful to the universe with its benevolence in consistently surrounding me with such beautiful, thoughtful and caring people wherever I travel! 🙏

Kerry is in the middle

Jamee

Kerry

Enroute to Istanbul

My Turkish Airlines return flight from Cairo to Toronto had a four hour layover in Istanbul. I indulged myself by enjoying all the creature comforts offered by flying business class. 

Aerial View

Airport tarmac

One last view of Cairo

Egyptian coastline as we head to Istanbul

Friend

I had the extraordinary blessing of meeting Mohamed Afifi, the 30 year old CEO of Sesco Steel, which is a division of Sesco Group, a family run company with $4 billion USD in annual revenue. 

Mohamed, who was sitting next to me on the Cairo to Istanbul flight started our conversation by asking me about my travels in Egypt. He confirmed the sites our tour visited were the key tourist destinations that he thought a visitor should see. He then started to share information about himself and his family's company - Sesco Group. He mentioned he was leading the Steel Company and his two brothers were responsible for the other Group businesses. 

What I found incredibly interesting was the history of how his father, now 66 years young, grew the business starting with nothing - a rags to riches story. I think an important point to make is how humble this family remains in spite of their success. His father started as a street vendor in his teens finding opportunities throughout his life and leveraging his good fortune to create a group of companies generating $4 billion USD. The father has a personal relationship with the Egyptian president. Government ministers are always present when a new facility is opened in Egytp. It was a spellbinding story I was treated to. 

List of Sesco Group
companies

Istanbul Layover

I had a four hour layover in Istanbul Airport so I took advantage of my business lounge privileges. Little did I know how many different travellers I would meet in that short period of time.

Friends

Reddi

Let me introduce you to Reddi, a Canadian citizen who was born in Libya. He emigrated to Canada as a child with his parents. He's now an independent consultant working for the UAE government on logistical matters. He did spend 15 years working for the Canadian government in a similar role prior to pursuing self-employment. He was on his way to Toronto on the same flight as I was on. 

Mandy & Mark

I'm pleased to introduce this American couple, originally from New Hampshire, now living in a small Croatian town. They had moved to Croatia after completing extensive research on potential destinations. The couple were travel consultants focused on helping travellers have an effortless trip including finding specific restaurants for their clients in the destination cities. Talk about comprehensive service. Mandy shared their current travel issue of an extended layover in Istanbul without a viable comfortable option to spend their 20+ hour stay in the airport. I have the sense that Mark may have been part of the American military presence in Bosnia/Croatia part of world in the 1990's or later. 

Danny & Marie

Danny is a Canadian mining executive from the Toronto area who was on his way (along with his wife Marie) to Almaty, Kazakhstan to attend a five day mining conference. I had a somewhat interesting approach in striking up a conversation. I had noticed him earlier as he stood out because of how well dressed he was along with that electric blue sports coat he was wearing. As I walked by where he was sitting I mentioned to him that he got my vote for the best dressed man in the business lounge. After a short debate on the truth of my assertion, he mentioned they were traveling to Almaty. I was able to share info about the city to allay the common concerns they had about visiting a city for the first time. I also reassured him that the Intercontinental Hotel where he was staying at would be more than adequate. The hotel is IHG's premium brand. I think they were in a much better place about their impending travels to Almaty by the time I bid adieu! 

Enroute to Toronto

The Istanbul flight to Toronto is about 10.5 hours. I managed to have about five hours of uninterrupted sleep during the flight. This is the first time ever that I've slept this long on a flight! 

Friends

Yes, I managed to meet a few people, mainly airline staff, on my return flight. 

Onboard Chefs

A big highlight in flying a Turkish Airline long haul flight is the presence of onboard chefs who visit with the business class passengers explaining the menu, answering questions and simply making your onboard meal a dining experience. I had learned about the Turkish Airlines chefs from the chef on my Austrian Airlines flight to Maldives in January! 

I was blessed to get the photo below before our flight became airborne!

If we look real close we can read
the chefs' names on their name tags!

Flight Attendants

I had the two most attentive flight attendants ever. They were always proactively asking how they could make my flight a better experience for me. I had a chance to share my positive feedback by completing a feedback form available through the entertainment system. After considerable frustration with the less than friendly user interface, I submitted my comments. I guess I had nothing but time to complete the survey. I asked Gokhan to use my search function to type out his name and his colleague's name. I gotta put a note application on my phone one day for tasks like this! 

Gokhan

Deniz

Tour Guide Connection

The woman in charge of the business class area was kind enough to share her husband's contact information. He just happens to be a Turkey travel guide! Who knows when a contact like this might be handy one day! 

Referral from airline
staff (her husband!)

Tom

My final introduction from this day of travel is Tom, an 81 year young retired businessman who was returning to his home in Burlington, Ontario after a tour in Turkey. He had had a successful business supplying high end restaurant equipment (microwaves, stoves, etc) to Canadian restaurants. He was kind enough to chronicle how he grew the business after he graduated from university. His older daughter was now running the business. She had bought out her sister's interest in the business after Tom had decided to retire and turn the business over to them. His younger daughter is a sports therapist working north of Toronto.

Tom also shared a personal tragedy related to his wife's unexpected death that is a solemn reminder of how delicate our lives are. His wife had been admitted to hospital with what was to be a simple outpatient type of intervention. Tragedically, through a mistake made by a nurse on his wife's medication, she died as a result. He successfully sued the hospital. This is when Tom learned that the maximum amount of money an Ontario hospital can be sued for is $750,000. He distributed the net proceeds to his two grandchildren. BTW - The hospital's insurance company subsequently sued the nurse's union to recover the insurance coverage the nurse has for a tragedy like this. 

Mississauga

I've moved into a Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Mississauga, Ontario for the 18 nights I'm in Canada during this visit. The hotel is a short drive from Lake Ontario where I can witness the daily sunrise. It's also relatively close to the airport and my storage locker so I benefit from the convenience. The small plus the hotel offers is free breakfast which makes me yearn for the free breakfasts I enjoyed in Turkey or Kazakhstan. 

Friends

Free breakfast means the opportunity to meet new friends during my stay!

Bob, Judy and daughter Kim Riseling

I'm thrilled to introduce the Riselings who I met through an initial conversation with Kim. Kim was visiting from the US on a combination business trip/personal travel. In her role at the pharmaceutical company she worked at, she had the opportunity to complete an audit of one of the company's suppliers. She was also using this time to travel with her parents, Bob & Judy, to the Catskills in New York State to visit with Bob's brother. 

Bob and Judy are 89 years young and married for 67 years of those 89 years. They live in London, Ontario where Bob taught music at the University of Western Ontario. What really sparked out conversation was their knowledge of Palau; a far less common experience when I speak of traveling there. They had a son-in-law who had worked as a diver in Palau. Bob took over the conversation over the next few days as he shared their experiences in China where he traveled, at his expense, to teach music in China over several years. His name became synonymous with music in China as copies of the music he shared during his time was widely distributed in the country. He had also traveled to Europe for teaching and performing in concerts. A man of the music world! 

I have tentative plans to visit them at their home in London before I fly to Eau Claire, Wisconsin on October 2.  

Montreal

I made a day trip on Saturday to enjoy brunch at 11 am with friends in Montreal. I initially planned an overnight stay as part of my travels to break up the approximately six hour trip (includes breaks) to reach Montreal from my hotel. I opted to make the return trip in one day. Puzzling how my mind sometimes works. BTW - I do enjoy driving long distances - as long as there is favorable weather and it's daylight. I was blessed with a clear day, albeit I left, in the dark, at 4:30 am so I could reach the cafe we were meeting at. 

City

Montreal is one of Canada's most beautiful cities, in my humble opinion. The city has a wonderful mix of historical buildings, amazing restaurants and nightlife combined with all the modern conveniences including public transportation. I've shared a link above so you can have a look at what Montreal has to offer. I'd avoid visiting in the winter months unless, of course, you enjoy cold weather and huge piles of snow everywhere. The city gets lots of snow throughout the winter months. 

Thank goodness I arrived in the city an hour early. I was met with a series of road closures and traffic congestion as I tried to reach the cafe we were meeting at. I discovered the 2026 UCI Road World Championships started on Saturday was responsible for the traffic mayhem! I found a place to park and walked to the cafe for an on time arrival!

I do need to return to Montreal to take/share much more and better photos than the three photos below. I'm relying on the link that I shared above to supplement my underwhelming representation of this great city. 

Reminder/heads up that Montreal is in the province of Quebec, where Canada's predominantly French speaking population lives. Keep Google Translate handy! My typical language experience in Quebec has been me trying to speak the few French words I know and the listener almost immediately switching to English. The more remote communities outside the major centres are more likely require Google Translate as English may be less commonly spoken.

Near where I parked

Rue Ontario

Friends

I'm delighted to reintroduce Ines and Tristan who I initially met in February while I was visiting the Maldives. We enjoyed a day trip together to an uninhabited island near our island. They recently moved to Montreal from Paris so this was my chance to welcome them to Canada. Ines just learned the day before that her nursing position was now permanent. Tristan, an engineer, was having much more adventure with his employment. He had learned the day before that he was out of a job. Time for me to comb my network to see who might also lend a hand in his job search. 

We enjoyed a magnificent brunch at Bistro Tôt ou Tard where we were served generous portions, had amazing service, a bottomless cup of coffee all at a very reasonable price. I highly recommend you treat yourself to a great dining experience at this cafe if you're visiting Montreal. 

I'm extraordinarily blessed (and most grateful) for the opportunity to meet new friends in one part of the world and then catch up with them in a totally different part of the world. 

My Quebecoise Omelette

Saturday Evening Sky

I was blessed with a beautiful sunrise and sunset on my day trip. Unfortunately, finding the right place where I can stop safely and get good photos was an insurmountable challenge. The best I could do is take this one photo while navigating the stop and go traffic on Highway 401 as I inched my way back to Mississauga hotel. 

Evening sky from Hwy 401

Next Week

It's looking like a low activity week ahead. I have a dental appointment (teeth cleaning), a specialist appointment for my Achilles tendon and a few get togethers to catch up with friends. I'm also wanting to use my dental appointment to make arrangements to have my front tooth (crown) fixed. I'd love to be able to bite into an apple once again! And talking about apples, I may visit an apple orchard to to apple picking, a favorite activity this time of year!