Go Venture Beyond.blog

I’ve been to Lisbon twice before, but my latest trip last weekend has got to be one of the most memorable — and for the most bizarre reasons!

Saturday and Sunday were great fun. We managed to fit in a lot for my mate’s 40th birthday: lovely dinners, some VR fun, a breezy cruise on the Tagus River, and watching football at Benfica! It was shaping up to be a perfect weekend.

Come Monday, we were all ready to head home when we heard that there had been a power cut at our hotel (Jupiter Lisboa Hotel). Assuming it was just a small hiccup that would be sorted out well before our evening flight, we didn’t think much of it at first.

But as the day went on, things started to get… wild.

Traffic lights across the city went down, causing chaos on the roads with frustrated drivers stuck in gridlock. Shops couldn’t process card payments, and word started to spread that the whole of Portugal — and even Spain — was experiencing a power outage. It was like something out of a movie: no power, no phone calls, no internet, no digital payments… it felt like we were back in the ’90s!

Unsurprisingly, our flight got cancelled. Just as we were trying to rebook, the hotel Wi-Fi went down again. Luckily, I still had some mobile network coverage and managed to reschedule my flight. We even managed to book a hotel room for the night — or so we thought.

That evening, we arrived at the new hotel to check in, only to find that they couldn’t locate our booking because the power was still out. The building was still in darkness, and with no idea when the electricity would return — or how to contact the rest of our group, who had split up — things started to get intense.

Rather than waiting around and hoping for the best, we decided to check out the surrounding neighbourhood. There were a few more hotels in the area, but every single one was fully booked. It was surreal to see crowds of people queueing outside, desperately trying to find a room. As the sun began to set, the gravity of the situation hit us — the street lights weren’t coming on, and the city was still without power.

As a last resort, we headed to the airport, which is fortunately close to central Lisbon. We hoped we might find some assistance there — or at least a place to crash. That plan quickly fell apart too. Half the airport was in darkness, and there were no help desks or spare rooms in sight.

It was coming up to 10 p.m. when we finally got some good news. A friend messaged to say the lights were coming back on in the city and suggested we try calling the hotel. To our great relief, they picked up — the power was finally back! We jumped in an Uber and headed straight there.

By the time I got into my room, it was nearly 11 p.m. I was exhausted. My smartwatch said I had walked over 20,000 steps that day — a fitting measurement of just how dramatic the evening had been!

The next morning was calm. Breakfast at the hotel, everything back to normal, and we flew back as planned. This really was an experience I won’t forget anytime soon — and one that me and my friends will be laughing about for years to come.