Aljezur resident Rui Nuno set off this week to ride his motorcycle to South Africa and back in an epic journey spanning 30 countries and a

distance of more than 50,000 kilometres (30,000 miles).

“Africa Trip” is the name of Rui’s great adventure taking him from Aljezur at the heart of the Costa Vicentina which began with a civic send-off on Tuesday the 10th of March; the realisation of a long-held dream of this intrepid 48 year-old Portuguese man.

Rui decided to drop everything and travel the full length of Africa by motorbike in a journey lasting at least one year. He will ride his bike through some of the most difficult terrain on the African continent, travelling from north to south, then back to Aljezur.

He will also use the journey to promote Aljezur throughout Africa after the Municipality of Aljezur enthusiastically joined the “Africa Trip” project.

Rui Nuno started the round trip to South Africa from Aljezur Town Hall, flagged on his way by the Mayor, Joseph Amarelinho, and members of the Executive.

He took with him a memory stick packed with reproductions of images and texts from the recently published prestigious book “Aljezur, the heart of the Costa Vicentina”.

Rui, as an “Ambassador for Aljezur”, aims to promote and disseminate the beauty of the area in which he chose to live throughout the 30 countries he plans to visit on the African continent.

His adventurous trip has captured the imagination so much that he was able to enlist the invaluable support and sonsorship of several national and foreign companies.

Rui says he has spent his life travelling, including time spent in Africa. And after settling in Aljezur (“I wanted to be away from the cities and the villages, the countryside, the beaches of the wildest coast of Portugal were perfect for me,” he said), the wanderlust resurfaced and with it, the desire to return to the African continent.

“I have to realise my dream of returning to the locations, smells, landscapes, sweet people, the colour of Africa that I had got to know and love,” he explained. “I have to know, live, experience, smell, feel, see, touch the best Africa can offer”.

He went on: “But how to do it? That was the question. The traditional way was to travel in a big well-equipped 4×4 vehicle. But I had to ask myself, was that what I wanted—did I really want to travel through Africa tucked inside a metal cage?

“I know I like engines, the noise, the smell and it became clear that I just had to do it by motorbike, exposed to the real Africa.

“I’ve never been a fan of the big bikes, the Superbikes and I did not want anything beyond what is essential and necessary to make the sensations more real.

“Nor did I want to spend a fortune because I prefer to use the money to be on the road as much as possible.

“The most obvious and economic choice was clear; a Yamaha XT600E. It took me a good month but eventually I found a XT600 with a single owner, a low number of  kilometers and selling at a good price.

“It was done…”

The project has taken several years to plan and prepare—but in the last six months it began to gather pace as the adventurous Rui devoted himself heart and soul to making the trip a reality.

Rui will travel alone, taking with him everything necessary to complete such a demanding trip independently and without assistance.

His bike has been skilfully packed with a huge amount of essentials such as camping equipment, tools, spare parts, pharmaceutical items, his laptop and accessories to charge the batteries and smart-phones en route.

“Everything has had to be meticulously planned and prepared in detail to ensure the viability of the trip,” he said.

Although he has a planned route, Rui Nuno admits that there must be some flexibility. “Africa is a huge and often unpredictable continent There

are lots of variables constantly changing—for example the difficulty of obtaining a visa for some countries, which means I have to be constantly adapting,” he explained.

Rui jokes that although he will be alone on his epic adventure, he “won’t be really alone” explaining that people interested in his project can follow his progress on the website

www.africaevolta.pt

which contains all the information and details and it will be regularly updated with reports, photos and videos.

The progress of the journey will also be shared on social networks Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.