Back in the late '70's I traveled cheaply in Guatemala and Mexico. In one "hotel" I stayed at in Guatemala, the proprietor had wired a long string of 110 volt lighting outside the "rooms" (really interconnected shacks) using simple 18 gauge lampcord - the kind with clear vinyl insulation. The rooms themselves had no power or lighting, which was probably just as well. Well what do you expect for $1/night? Another sight was a hotel worker using a rock to pound in a nail...
When I stayed at another cheap hotel in Flores, near Tikal, the power flickered in the early evening and then died completely. Naturally the batteries in my flashlight gave out about the same time. I was then treated to an hours-long heated argument in unintelligible Spanish in the next room - which sounded like it was inside my room. I was really happy, finally, to cross the border back into Mexico - I felt like I had re-entered civilization.
