Hi Barry,

I used my AT&T iPhone in madagascar but I sent only texts at fifty cents apiece. The guys on our project who needed to talk a lot bought a phone - about fifty bucks - loaded with minutes. It is possible to get these at the airport (if they're open, they keep strange hours and they don't take credit cards). Depending on how much you will be calling, you could just splurge and use your phone or buy a sim card. Not all carriers work in all places. There are Internet cafes but the connections are slow and frustrating. Your best bet is to find a hotel with wifi, and these are only in Tana. Credit cards are only accepted in a few hotels in Tana, hardly anywhere else. Best guidebook to the country is the Bradt guide which has a good section on telephones.

Good luck! The wildlife is amazing!

Dave Parent dpdvm at whidbey dot com

Sent from my iPad

On Oct 18, 2012, at 9:25 PM, "barry " <levineb at fastmail.fm> wrote:

> Tweeters and Chatters,
> Any ideas about the best way to call home from either Madagascar or
> Uganda? Do you take a cell phone and, I'm going to show my ignorance
> here, load up your phone to get it done? Or do you buy a cheap phone in
> the foreign country put in a SimCard and use a phone card? Other options
> that some of you have used?
> Thanks for any and all help. All the best
> --
> barry levine
> Seattle
> levineb at fastmail.fm
>
> --
> http://www.fastmail.fm - Accessible with your email software
> or over the web
>
>