This month we have an exclusive interview with Josef Ekhamra, 48, from the Strömstad region, Sweden.
A biker since the age of 13 he came by Almuñecar to see his Los Nordicos friend Bengt (also a biker), end of February. In April he might just have passed through Senegal…
“When I’m not riding a motorcycle I’m either working or planning the next trip. I work hours when needed as a resource at school” he told me when I ask what his day job is.
Now Josef plans a six-months road trip on a tight budget, along Africa’s coasts from Morocco to South Africa and then back home via East Africa and many Arab countries , Turkey and Eastern Europe. “But! I am fully prepared for things to happen that are completely beyond my control and that I may have to change or even cancel the route and the entire trip,” he said
Cruising through Africa has been his dream since he worked for a while in Ghana, in 2013.
The highlight on his way to Almuñecar was the Pyrenees… after terrible weather through Germany and France, cold and wet during February. When this is published he is riding through West Africa with 40 degrees C as an average!
I asked Josef how a regular day would look like. “It usually starts between 9 – 11 am. So far it has been 250-500 km a day, with 5-9 hours of driving, including breaks. I normally drive 2-3 hours between breaks.
I have spent most of my nights at private homes, either those I already know or those I get to know here and now. I use CouchSurfing and Bunk-a-Biker. Some nights I stay at hostels or hotels. In African countries I think there will be many nights in tent and hammock that I have with me.
My partner Maria is a teacher. She flies down when she gets summer vacation, to the country I am in at the time, and she rides with me for 3-5 weeks. Otherwise, I travel alone.
The people you meet along the way is the most rewarding part of this experience”, he says.
Any advice to others who dream of hitting the road?
“Do it! Pack light and just do it! Don’t wait until “everything feels right” – the risk is then far too great that you will arrive “home” (the retirement home) without having done it. Use a bike you have access to and don’t compare yourself to others who have other bikes.”
I had the opportunity to ask a lot of questions back in February. Here come some of the direct answers.
When did you start riding a motorcycle?
Depending on exactly how you define a motorcycle, I was either 6 or 13 years old. Mopeds were also the thing for a few years between 11 and 16, although I also rode a motorcycle then.
Have you ridden far before?
Far and far… The distance has never been decisive for me, but more the destination – which for me in many ways is the driving itself. It was in 2004 that I started riding abroad and then the trip went to Italy and Rome. And that’s the way it is. Unless I have a job or a partner that makes it difficult to travel.
Now I hope that this trip will be the best so far in my life, but before that there was a trip I did in 2013 on a Honda Dominator 650cc from 1995, which I bought used for 14 thousand SEK (around 1.300€). From Sweden and down through Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland again and back to Sweden.
Travel plan – when and where did you start?
The trip started at home in Dingle, Friday, February 7th – but in a car with my partner Maria and with the bike behind in tow. The actual motorcycle riding began on Sunday, February 9th, in Trelleborg, where I rode on board the ferry that took me to Rostock in Germany.
Which route are you taking?
This trip I have planned to take me around the African continent from Morocco to South Africa along the westernmost countries and then up to Egypt via the eastern ones with the exception of Somalia and South Sudan. Out of Egypt to Jordan and into Turkey. If the situation in Syria does not worsen, the plan is to drive through Syria, Georgia and Russia and then finish with a ferry from Estonia back to Sweden.
How long do you plan to be out?
Six months. I want to be back in Sweden so I can make it to Lake Mälaren Runt 2025, August 16.
Food?
I am not particularly complicated with food, so there will be a lot of fruit, but there have also been a few fast-food meals and other restaurants and the nights that I have had the privilege of spending with a friend, new or old, it is often homemade. (And by end of March he wrote me that it is difficult to find food during daytime during Ramadan!)
Do you have any special story or memory you want to share?
In 2014 I drove alone and arrived at the border between Poland and Ukraine – without either a registration certificate or a green card! It took 8 hours to persuade the Ukrainian customs officers to let me through, but they were very clear that if Romania did not want to let the bike in, Ukraine would not let it back into Ukraine either… It went well into Romania without control, but once in Romania I thought it would not be worth taking the chance through more countries without the registration certificate and green card, so I called my mother and asked her to come to my house to pick up the documents – which were neatly on the kitchen table.
After ten days without any mail arriving, I decided to go on anyway and actually made it the whole way without any problems. What my mother had sent (registration certificate, green card and $350) arrived at my friends in Romania on April 23, 2023 – nine years later!
What do you expect when you reach your destination?
The goal is the trip itself and to get home again, unharmed and with a whole and working bike – in time for the Lake Mälaren Runt competition.
What is your budget, approximately?
I hope to be able to complete the trip for around 100,000 SEK (around €9,000), but I might need double the amount.
How did you come up with the idea of doing this itinerary?
The dream of traveling on a motorcycle and through distant lands took shape in my early teens, but the fact that Africa is now the destination has been in my mind since 2013, when I was working in Ghana. It was at the end of May 2024 that I decided to go for it. So I ordered the bike, a Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, in June and received it in August.
How did you end up here in Almuñecar?
Back home in Sweden, I am part of the motorcycle club MC-NJUT where I been sharing my plans about this trip. One of the MC-NJUT brothers, Bengt, spends part of the winter months in Almuñecar – and he invited me here before crossing over to Morocco. Thanks for that Bengt!
Anything else you want to tell me?
I want to take a moment to thank “1903 Bikeshop/Workshop” for introducing this specific bike, the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, to me. They are located in Kållered, so don’t hesitate to visit them if you’re curious about what kind of bike it is and test one! A brand new and competent adventure bike for under 70,000 SEK (less than €6,000). Thisin itself had another big advantage when it came to the insurance “Carnet de Passages (CDP)” required by many African countries. The cost of the CDP is 350 or 450 EUR depending on whether you are a member of an association affiliated with either the Alliance Internationale de Tourisme (AIT) or the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) – which in Sweden is Motormännen.
In addition to the cost of the CDP, the big advantage of the Himalayan is that it carries the lower of the two different deposit fees that exist for motorcycles, €3,500 or €15,000.
I would also like to extend a big thank you to my friend Christopher “Tranan” in Vårgårda who helped me assemble stuff, as well as Carl-Adam in Malmö.
And last but certainly not least, a big thank you to everyone at CouchSurfing.com and BunkABiker.com – you are worth your weight in gold!
You can follow Josef on his adventures through Facebook: ever8.com
You find information about Los Nordicos in Almuñecar on our website : www.losnordicos.com
(News/International Feature – Interview)
Keywords: Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, Trans-Africa, Bike Trek, Sweden, Honda Dominator 650cc