I did have a sense of achievement when we pulled into Lagos. It was a pity there was so little wind but Steve and I have always said that so long as the sails aren’t actually flapping we’d rather potter along at 3 knots than motor. So we came in several hours after everyone else.

Lagos marina is humming. Full of restaurants, apartments, yachts and a swimming pool. If you want to sit and people watch this is the place to be. Over the next couple of days the crews were all beginning to relax. A leisurely breakfast, a stroll into town, soaking up the sun.

On reflection, the whole journey with Arc Portugal has been amazing. The last week of sailing was rather dull because of the lack of wind, but the onshore tours were well planned with enthusiastic guides. Riding around Porto in a Tuk Tuk is certainly the best way to see the town. It is very hilly with narrow streets and well worth a visit. We had the best Pastel de Nata there – and, of course, white port. The seafood everywhere is delicious and well priced. A decent lunch with wine for E8 each is standard. A supermarket shop comes in well under UK prices.

And then there are the castles. Wonderfully preserved and not too “touristy”. I never felt I was in a theme park – which you can do in some countries. Portugal has it about right taking pride in their culture while at the same time being genuinely friendly and welcoming.

The marinas in the Algarve are expensive and I got the feeling they can afford to be as demand is so high. But we anchored out very successfully. There are lovely places to go and not too many boats going there. The nature reserve near Faro is now a favourite of ours. We had no idea how beautiful it was until we got there and definitely inspired us to buy some paddleboards. A smaller boat would also be able to meander in and out of the caves, which looked very inviting.

We have a few things to do back in the UK in July but we’ll be back on the seas in August, heading east. We did turn to look west towards the Azores, and we do want to go there, but not this time round. We are headed into the Mediterranean for more adventures and more filming. And we have some family visitors from home coming in September. Can’t wait.