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The boat went back in the water on Monday afternoon and after a few checks and a last minute complimentary deck wash we left Porto for Lisbon.

The sea was virtually flat with little or no wind, a stunning sunset and dolphins accompanying us for over an hour  we motored down the Portuguese coast overnight arriving in Cascais 24 hours later.

Lisbon

After a provisioning shop in Cascais we arrived back at the boat to be asked by the harbour authority to leave as they were closing the anchorage for a regatta. We pulled up the anchor and headed into the Rio Tejo to Lisbon to find another anchorage.

Against the outgoing tide it took several hours to negotiate. There was plenty to see on the way. In medieval times Lisbon was one of Europes busiest ports.

Holding our breath as we pass under the Ponte 25 de Abril Bridge

There are several marinas to choose from but we settled on anchoring in Seixal situated off the Canal de Barreiro,in the Rio Jude.  It seemed the furthest point in the harbour and  was a lovely still night and with a regular ferry service across the river to the city it was ideal.

Thursday we spent some time exploring the city visiting the Castelo de S. Jorge. It was built by the Moors in the mid 11th century.

From 1147 the first king of Portugal made it his royal residence, it was mostly destroyed in the 1755 earthquake and restoration and archaeological research work has confirmed the historical importance of the site.

Thursday evening we refuelled at one of the marinas and started south again for an overnight passage to Lagos.

Porto was an opportunity to lift the boat out of the water to check the bits we don’t see very often! The copper coat has done a fantastic job and after a brief pressure wash the hull was clean. We wanted to check and change anodes, lubricate the through hull fittings, polish the prop and generally inspect the rudder etc for the journey ahead.

We decided to get the blue hull professionally polished as our previous attempts had not had much impact.

The team at Douro Yachts were extremely professional, accommodating and can be thoroughly recommended for any planned or emergency repairs. Their yard is well run and spotlessly clean. They clearly take pride in their work to give you the best results.

Saturday was market day just outside the marina so we had to sample the local food but equally interesting was the communal wash room, where many locals congregate to do their washing in vast tubs and hang it out to dry on a matrix of bamboo and rope

On Sunday we took time out to cycle along the south bank of the river and explore.

The river is navigable for 200 km upstream to Barca de Alva. An interesting port tasting tour was found in the Vila nova de Gaia area of the city.

The vineyards are approximately 100 kilometres up the river in the Douro valley and the wine is transported down the river for export. 4 million litres of port wine were stored on the premises to age! The tradition goes back centuries.

We finally left Port Solent on the 30th April.

We are off on our adventures!