Alexis M Spencer

lexispence10

Alexis M Spencer

I was an engineer on a long term assignment, first in Dubai and then in Qatar. During this time, I took advantage of my nice paycheck and proximity to other places to start seeing the world. After three years, I decided to take a much earned break and traveled for a year. After working about two years in New York State, I am on my way back to Dubai.



Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar December 10th 2023

After A left late at night, I slept in a bit and left around 6am, with the guy, Pascal, who had picked me up when I first arrived. Throughout the trip, I had loved seeing the beautiful purple jacaranda trees, but never got a good picture. He stopped a couple of times so I could try again; pictures really do not do them justice. Maybe next time.... Airport check-in was fairly easy and we were loaded onto a very small plane with entrance at the back end. After we arrived in Zanzibar, the plane continued to Dar es Salaam. It was called "Precision Air" which had me a bit nervous, but it seemed to be a well run operation! Flying over Zanzibar I was a bit blown away with the condition of the buildings - I ... read more
Mahali Hotel
Mahali Hotel
GiantClamsFish

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area December 6th 2023

After lunch at Safariland, we drove a couple of hours through the beautiful countryside, soon coming upon the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. At the entrance to the crater, Abdul went to get our tickets. In the meantime, avoiding the many baboons, we went to the nice little visitor center. You can see a model of the crater area (which I loved) and there are standing displays of the natural area surrounding it, such as human history, plant life, and of course the many types of animals we may expect to encounter. The visitor's center was quite nice and you could easily spend 30 minutes here. Plenty of valuable information to be read. We then got into our truck and continued the drive up the steep slope - it was very steep to drive and there were very ... read more
View from our room over crater!
Ngorogoro Crater
Ngorogoro Crater

Africa » Tanzania » North December 5th 2023

Our hotel above Lake Manyara, Luxury Escarpment Lodge, was probably our favorite of the three and I would have loved to spend 2-3 nights here to get the full experience of it. In addition to the beautiful setting and the amazing pool, they had a list of optional excursions you could do, such as hiking, biking, canoeing bird watching, Masai village tour, treetop tours, and even Balloon safari. In the morning, we finished our yummy breakfast and headed out to see Abdul for the next safari! He said that this would be a very different experience; the previous day at Tarangire, we had seen a lot of animals over vast distances, but today would be more of a jungle setting so we would not see as many animals, but the experiences we would have would be ... read more
Close up elephant encounters!
Masai 'black' giraffe
Lake Manyara NP

Africa » Tanzania » North » Tarangire National Park December 4th 2023

We were picked up at 7:30 am to make the 3-hour drive to Tarangire National Park, our first safari of the trip! Abdul was our guide and driver, who had 20 years of experience (his favorite safari is the Serengeti, fyi). It was just the three of us, with a full safari land cruiser and surprisingly comfortable seats. There were some drinks in a cooler in the back, and the hotel had made each of us a small packed lunch, which was nice to snack on since we had a quick basic breakfast. This lunch turned out to be the second best of the three, and I absolutely loved the gingham bags they were put in. We made our way from one side of Arusha to the other, which took about an hour as it appeared ... read more
Tarangire National Park
Escarpment Luxury Lodge
Tarangire National Park

Africa » Tanzania » North » Arusha December 3rd 2023

To celebrate our (planned) conquer of Mt Kilimanjaro, I had planned a "luxury" safari trip for three days - also to celebrate her PhD and new job. Despite my abandoned attempt, my friend A did conquer it! It was miserable apparently - ice crystals blowing sideways up the slope, no views above or below of anything but grey cloud, a frozen sign as it was -20C, and many of them throwing up a few times. Out of our group of 8, 6 summited, so she did amazing! Though yeah, I would most likely not have made it, and even if I did, it would have been miserable. So, I was happy with my decision. I was initially taken to the Brubru hotel for one night then onto the Weru Weru River Lodge for the next few ... read more
Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge
Weru Weru River Lodge
Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge

Africa » Tanzania » North » Mount Kilimanjaro December 2nd 2023

My friend and I planned this trip for months, since about April and we were looking forward to it. I knew I would have availability in December and it would not be during peak season. We knew it was at the tail end of the 'short' rainy season, meaning the length of the season was short and the duration of rainfall during the day was short (we were later told it was usually a couple hours every couple days). The main rainy season is during April, which is a definitely no-go! I was so looking forward to this trip. My friend, A, is a trail runner and physically she could have done it months ago. She had never tried high altitude before, but she took a few trips in California to try some higher parks. On ... read more
Sunrise at Barranca camp
Sunrise at Shira II camp
Day 1 hike to Shira I camp

Europe » France » Champagne-Ardenne » Epernay October 8th 2023

My last day, I decided that while I was here I would do a day trip to Epernay, kind of the center of the Champagne houses. So, after a quick breakfast with my friends, I bid them adieu and got on my train. After two switches, I had finally arrived in Epernay. I had absolutely no plan here, so I just kind of followed the crowd a bit. I walked through a garden just outside the train station and emerged onto Avenue de Champagne. My first stop was to visit the Museum in the Chateau du Perrier. The chateau was built in the 1850's, but was used during both world wars as first an infirmary then headquarters. It has two accessory buildings which were the caretakers quarters and stables, and now house the ticket office / ... read more
Epernay
Atelier 1834 - Champagne Boizel
Epernay

Europe » France » Champagne-Ardenne » Reims October 7th 2023

I had to make a separate post for the Cathedral when I realized how many photos I had to share. I love history. I love cathedrals. I love detailed old art and stonework. This place had it all. You can see the Cathedral from all over the city in some way. The church was originally founded in the 5th century, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. About 70 years later, King Clovis I of the Franks was baptized here in 490AD by Saint Remigus. King Louis the Pious was crowned here in 816 and soon after began the construction of a larger church more befitting of such occasions as it became the traditional site to crown the Kings of France. The current cathedral was begun in about 1208 with various additions throughout the centuries, including reconstruction after ... read more
Nave
Wall of Sculptures and Rose window
Northern Facade

Europe » France » Champagne-Ardenne » Reims October 6th 2023

About two weeks before, my Aussie friend that I had made in Dubai and who had moved to Spain last year messaged me and invited me to come to Paris, or Reims actually, to celebrate her milestone birthday. I had not left the UAE except for a couple short work trips since the end of June, so I figured, why not! I took Friday off and flew into Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, arriving at 9:30am and was able to get a direct high speed train to Champagne-Ardenne at 11:22am, with a short local train to the main Reims station. Easy! I had booked a little hotel near the station, Brit Hotel Aux Sacres, which was cute, friendly, and centrally located, with a little extra for a decent breakfast. I had no idea what to ... read more
Champagne Pommery
Champagne Ruinart
SODAD

Middle East » Oman » Dakhliya October 2nd 2023

On the way back from Jebel Akhdar to Dubai, we visited the old ruined village of Al Hamra. It was a bit off the main road and the directions took us via very narrow streets through date palm farms. It was a beautiful drive. We arrived on the other side of the museum from our colleagues, so did not know they were there already. So, the four of us toured the ruined village of Al Hamra for a few minutes, before meeting everyone at the Bait Safah Museum. One of the cool things we saw was a public bath-house, a little alcove along the street sitting above the falaj where people can wash themselves in water destined for the farms. Al Hamra is a 400-year-old village near Nizwa and Jebel Shams areas. It has some of ... read more
Bait al Safah Museum
Bait al Safah Museum
Al Hamra old village




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