Uber has become a lifesaver for those traveling abroad, and even within U.S. territories, virtually eliminating issues that arise from language barriers and cutting down on perceptions that local merchants are out to get foreign travelers.

But as anyone who’s followed the various attempts by taxi drivers to prevent Uber from coming to their city knows, not everyone is as excited about the services the company offers, and in Puerto Rico that’s an understatement.

This past weekend, my best friend and I embarked on a short excursion to San Juan and planned on using Uber to get around, and at first things went exactly as planned. During the day we stepped out of our hotel, which is essentially tourist headquarters, as noted by the Walgreens below it, crossed the street, got in the car, and made our way to the beach. Later that evening when taking a second trip, one of the cab drivers waiting by the side of the rode who saw we’d been standing outside looking at our phones for some time asked if we were waiting for an Uber. When we said yes he simply walked away and a few steps more another driver said he could give us a price cheaper than Uber but told him we would pass and, again, got in the car we requested and made our way.

The next morning we expected things to transpire just as easily, but the chain of events was far from the usual. In the middle of the day, we stood on the corner waiting for our Uber to arrive when a cab driver told us Uber wasn’t allowed to pick us up in this area. I told him OK and crossed the street as we had twice before, assuming he simply meant we couldn’t be on that side of the street. But as our car pulled up and we made our way over to it, three taxi drivers beat us there and began questioning our Uber driver and telling him he couldn’t pick us up.

Our Uber driver was more than calm, telling the men not to touch his car and assuring us we didn’t need to be worried because he knew his rights. While taxi drivers don’t want Uber drivers picking up people in tourist areas, there’s no law prohibiting such — only regulations disallowing Ubers from picking people up from airports. My friend thought the diplomatic approach would help so she got out of the car and explained to the taxi drivers that we had somewhere to be and asked if they’d let us make our way. One driver told her, “We tried to warn you,” as he added, Our problem is with him, not with you.” Meanwhile another threatened to call the cops on the Uber driver who was slowly attempting to drive away from the three men harassing him. But as he did, another taxi driver pulled up with a van and swooped in front of him, preventing the Uber from driving forward while a second taxi car barricaded us in on the left side and a female taxi driver took out her phone and began recording the scene of our driver trying to escape.

It was at this point that I lost my American foreign cool and began shouting in Spanish that we needed to leave and how we would never get in a car with people acting as they were. And when my Spanish failed me I resorted to a few choice English words that I shan’t repeat here. Seeing that our options were either wait all day until the taxi gang got tired of wasting their breath and our time or get out of the car, we did the latter and were then taunted by the cab drivers at their short-sighted victory as I reminded them they’d only stopped one person from making money and not actually made any themselves.

Upon re-entering the hotel, I asked the concierge if he could call a cab for us, explaining why I refused to get in a car with any of the people who’d harassed us. He understood, telling us the drivers pull those types of antics all of the time and we’d basically need to go to a different area for an Uber driver to pick us up going forward. But even the new taxi driver came up with questions about why we called for him and didn’t use someone on the street, and when he attempted to pull his van up, one of the men who harassed us earlier questioned him about what he was doing. Thankfully, we eventually made it to our destination but not without being left with a very bad taste in our mouth.

What was more infuriating than the way we were treated in this instance was the fact that even when we were standing outside, the male taxi drivers were keen on making flirtatious conversation but few actually offered their services. Like with taxi drivers in New York City who discriminate against riders of color yet are mad we take advantage of Uber, there’s a huge disconnect between the business people want and the strategically responsible way they’re willing to go about getting it.

I understand the taxi drivers’ frustrations and the disadvantages having Uber in their country poses to them and their livelihood — and the increased prices they have to charge as a result — but hijacking rides is not the way to go about improving their business or hindering Uber’s. And I doubt many other tourists will be here for those types of shenanigans — especially since Uber still tried to charge me for a cancelled ride. Don’t worry; they’ll be hearing about this too.