back to old san juan

Before we left our week in the sun, Bob and I spent one last day in Old San Juan. No trip to Puerto Rico would be complete unless I get into a verbal altercation with a gas station attendant. In Spanish. As we were cruising back into VSJ in our rental car, I wanted to make sure that we topped off the gas tank. So we pulled into a station right before the docks. There was this huge sign that roughly translated into "pay before pumping gas." Well, because we hadn't driven that far and because the prices are in liters, I had NO IDEA how much gas I was going to be buying. I wander over to the window and explain to the guy the situation and he says no problem, go ahead and pump the gas. Well then the pump doesn't turn on. So he's screaming at me through the little loud speaker thing, which no one can understand in any language, that I need to flip the lever up and down again (and also implying that I don't know how to pump gas). So I do that again. And then I do it in slow motion for dramatic effect. Then I am screaming that I AM flipping the lever up and down. So he screams back that it must be broken and that I should just pull ahead to the next pump. Geesh. Bob was in the car the whole time and did not exit the vehicle to protect the honor of his wife. He was laughing too hard.