Just before arriving at Cascais, Portugal on Tuesday we dropped anchor to enjoy a nice lunch, a swim and the view of a shore dominated by cliffs.

Our mascot - the Little Mermaid - was her usual relaxed self after having given the crew a stern eye: "Hurry up and drop the anchor!"  Patience was needed because it took the Skipper and Bosun a little while to have the anchor and chain roll out - something was jammed and Skipper was determined to fix it so he could enjoy a dip the water.

As you gaze upon the scenic view of rocks, one is reminded about the importance and convenience of modern technology: what is the depth of the water and are there any underground rocks that you need to be cautious of? Etcetera.

Those thoughts take you back to the night sails where we had such a beautiful view of the stars - a view I myself hadn't seen for years as I live in a city where the street lights hides them from sight.  Just think that in the old days, sailors navigated by following the stars, set courses according to known trade-winds and relied on the wind and sails to get you somewhere. Now we have modern technology, weather forecasts, statistics etc. to assist in our route planning.

The light house on the cliffs is a reminder to be careful and once again the head goes into imagination-mode: have any ships been in distress here in the old days due to bad visibility and weather conditions?

We had calm waters, sunshine and a possibility to give Søren warm words as he was heading back home this morning. He was the last of the original MS crewmembers that left Copenhagen onboard Oceans of Hope last months and he shared his thoughts about his part of the trip.

Today cleaning, laundry and small repairs replaces the winds of the water so the ship will ready for the arrival at Lisbon - and later perhaps a moment to enjoy and absorb the many impressions that surround us. We can't just claim that it is the MS hitting us with fatigue but need to also acknowledge that we actually have a much higher activity level than usual. That and the salty air will make anybody tired.