Escudos

September 3, 2007

Escudos: Cape Verdian Money

So if anyone is interested, here is a little lesson on money in Cape Verde, which uses the Cape Verdian Escudo (CVE). I think right now the exchange rate is 76 escudos to the dollar, so 7600$00 CVE equals $100 USD. They have bills in 200$00, 500$00, 1000$00 and 2000$00 denominations, and coins for 1$00, 5$00, 10$00, 20$00, 50$00, and 100$00. All of the money is pretty and colorful and all of the bills are different sizes, but all smaller than American bills. Prices vary widely from island to island (Santo Antao is the most expensive because it’s the hardest to get to). Also, even though we’re in Africa, most things here are very expensive, because EVERYTHING you buy here is imported from Brasil, the U.S., China or Portugal. Most everything here is low quality. I’ve learned to check the expiration dates for everything, as things are often way past their prime. (Yesterday I ate a Snickers bar that was probably made in the late 1980’s)
In Cape Verde, here are some average prices:

1 litre bottled water = 100$00
beer = 80$00
candy bar = 65$00 (they only have Kit-Kats)
good kitchen knife = 450$00
“loosey” cigarette = 10$00
1 small pack of juicy fruit gum = 75$00
bed sheet = 350$00
propane tank = 2000$00;almost all cooking is done on a bunson-type burner that is attached to a gas tank exactly like the ones people use on Bar-B-Q grills. (Unless you’re from Texas and then you use charcoal and mesquite chips.) Gas tanks in CV are subsidized by the CV’n government in an attempt to get people to quit chopping down trees to use for lenha (firewood for cooking).
20 Megs worth of internet time = 150$00; in Cape Verde, some places charge you by bandwidth instead of time. Consequently, if you’re uploading pictures, you can spend 150$00 in about 5 minutes. Other places charge by the minute, but they are even worse because the connections are usually so slow that it may take 2 or 3 minutes to send one e-mail using Gmail. People in America, BE THANKFUL for DSL!!
20 minute ride in a hiace from Assomada to Txa di Tanki = 50$00
45 minute ride from Porto Novo to Ribera Grande = 400$00
1 hour ferry boat ride from Mindelo to Port Novo = 700$00
frying pan = 2500$00
broom = 300$00
1 kg of tuna = 400$00
20 kg bag of rice = 400$00; these come in huge, heavy sacks that.
1 shot of grog = 20$00; this is the local moonshine that is available everywhere. It tastes worse than Everclear, and is a little bit stronger.
Post-it notes: 100$00
Cheap Chinese shelf for clothes: 2500$00
8 eggs: 240$00
spoon: 100$00
jar of peanut butter: 300$00