Last day in Diego

We spent our last day in Diego checking out a few things we had missed - I wanted to see the courthouse and jail and we also saw the Dordogne dock, where boats leave to go to the Emerald Sea.  The name Dordogne comes from the first naval ship which transported French occupiers to Madagascar.  Afterwards, we went to the bank, a necessary preparation for travel in Madagascar.

Getting cash in Madagascar has been more challenging than in other countries.  First, few stores take credit cards, so that's usually not an option.  You can, of course, exchange foreign currency, especially euros and dollars, but at this point in our travels we had very few dollars left.  ATMs are available in most cities, and are a good option.  However, there is a limit to the number of bills you can withdraw at any given time, usually 40.  But, the largest bill in circulation is the 10,000 note, which is about $4.  So, the most you can pull out is about $160.  And, depending on your bank back home, you will be charged fees to your bank and the bank in Madagascar, for us that's about $5 per bank per transaction, in addition to the 3% conversion fee.  So, that's about $15 for every $160 we want to withdraw, not a great deal.  We've figured out a way around this - there's one bank, BFV, which allows you to do a cash advance from your savings account.  Which would usually include a lot of fees, but if you already have the money on your savings account, it's not really an advance, and you only pay the 3%, a much better deal.  The only drawback is you have to go to the bank, wait in line, and hope that their card swiping machine works.  The banks are also closed during the middle of the day.  So, when we do withdraw money, it's usually a large amount (see picture - 2 million Ariary, or about $800). 

The largest bill being about $4 has been annoying to us, especially when we have to pay for hotels or tours.  But, considering that about half of the country lives on less than a $1 a day, it makes sense.  For example, in the markets, getting change for a 10,000Ar note can be a challenge when most things cost less than 1,000Ar.