Home » Burkina Faso » Show Me The Money

Change and money in general is a big hassle in Ivory Coast. Notes exist in (FCFA) 500, 1000, 2500, 5000 and 10,000 denominations (there may be larger denominations, but we never came across them). As for coins, it's 250, 100, 50, 25, 10, and 5. When you get money at the currency exchange, or bank, you will typically get only 10,000 notes, and possibly a few 5000.

Show Me The Money

Ajcairns
2005-11-04 20:45:22

Displayed times (last time: )

supposedly accepted Visa cards. In fact, we'd paid by Visa card there when we stayed one night after returning from San Pedro. However, this time they told us that our card was refused (even after several retries). We said that we didn't have enough cash to pay, so they called on the stern-faced hotel director, who came and sat down with us at a coffee table in the reception, to work out a solution.

I offered to send a mandate when I arrived in France (no way, José!). What he proposed was to contact a relative or friend in Europe, who would send us cash via Western Union. We tried a friend in France, then my dad (nobody home), then finally got hold of my sister who agreed to send us £250 (approximately 250,000 CFA). Using the hotel phone to call my sister in the UK cost about 19,000 CFA (or £19)! Ouch! The cash transfer had a fee of £27. So this final Visa card problem cost us dear. I suppose though that we were very relieved when we'd paid off the hotel bill, and were finally on the plane with no more Visa card, cash flow nightmares. We vowed that next time we'd bring a lot more cash and traveller's cheques.

I think that the 'money experience' taught us a lot though - such as not to trust the guide books or heresay, how to discuss our problems as a couple and solve them, how to be resourceful, always to hold back a little cash in case of emergencies.

I was never down to my last franc, always trying to keep at least 10,000 FCFA for the all too common money surprises (like having to pay extra for baggage when you get the bus). In fact, I still had 6000 FCFA (a 5000 note and a 1000 note) plus a few coins, when we left the country, which I've kept as a souvenir. The notes I have are nice, crisp, clean ones. I rather wish I'd kept a hold of one of the typical notes you get given over there - the really dirty, brown ones, which have been passed from hand to hand so often that they look like ancient pieces of paper, as old as the Dead Sea Scrolls, the print so faint and grime-covered that you can hardly make it out.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 [5]