Broken Water Pipe = No hotel room

After a frustrating discussion with a taxi driver (in my broken Spanish), we (myself and 2 other Canadians) made it to Centro Historico and our hotels. Unfortunately, the three of us were split into two different hotels. We knew that going in, so no big surprise (just wait though). The taxi driver dropped off the other two people at their hotel and then proceeded to drop me off at my hotel. When we pulled in front of the hotel, the lights were off, front doors locked, and not a person to be seen. After ringing a door bell and rattling the front door a hotel clerk arrived. The look on his face as he arrived at the door indicated there was a problem. In his broken English he informed me they have my reservation but no room for me! The water pipe burst in the evening and the entire floor was wet and consequently no room for me (or the other 20 people scheduled to stay on that floor).

There I am at 1:30 AM on a dark street chatting to the hotel clerk without a hotel room. The reason we had two hotels was a result of the high demand for rooms on Saturday evening (later found out there was an important soccer game on Sunday nearby). The hotel clerk was very apologetic and offered to arrange a reservation at a nearby hotel. After 15 minutes of standing on the street, the clerk returned with the name of a hotel 3 blocks away. He assured me the hotel would be of the same high quality and similar price. It is now almost 2 AM and I couldn't really care what the hotel looked liked - I just wanted a bed to sleep in!

Forunately, the taxi driver waited on the street. He agreed to deliver me to yet another hotel. When we drove up to the hotel, it looked promising. A hotel staff member was quick to greet me and get me checked in. The place looked respectable and it appeared a number of large celebratins were taking place in the meeting rooms. My opinion of the place dramatically changed when I entered the room. The room was very large, but with very few amenities so it looked quite empty. To get water running in the sink it required leaving the taps wide open for a good 5 minutes before you see water. I am not sure when the last time the room was cleaned, but I could have easily written my name in the dust on any surface. The security in the rooms was somewhat lacking, however, the arm chair was easily pushed up against the door for a litle added sense of security. Being so tired from all the travel I simply crawled into bed.