Yes, I know, only tourists buy these types of hats. But I don’t really care. I already had a fleece beanie as seen in my post about me with the penguins in Chile, but I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to have two.
This Bolivian beanie actually is called a Chullo. Chullos were originally made in the Andean region of South America to protect the wearer from the cold high altitude weather.
Grey Side and White Side
As we were driving to see the salt flats in Uyuni, Bolivia, we passed by this market. While browsing through the market, I saw the beanie. As soon as I found out that it had embroidered llamas and was reversible, I was sold. The lady who sold the Chullo to me claimed that she hand made it, but as far as I know, machines in China could have made this hat. Later I found out that they sell those beanies basically in every market in either Bolivia or Peru.
The Bolivian beanie cost only 20 Bolivianos, which is less than USD $3. It isn’t made of llama or alpaca fur, but I don’t mind. As we continued traveling through Bolivia, the beanie became well worth it. Bolivia is basically a desert. The sunlight is extremely intense, but when the sun goes down, it gets to freezing point. Whenever walking around, or even while in our hotel, I would wear the beanie.
Compared to my Nike fleece beanie, this one is a lot warmer because it has extra earflaps. They are warm and toasty, but sometimes they can get in the way. While eating, I always find the pompoms going in my food. The two tassels are tie-able, but I prefer not to tie them.
My favorite part about the beanie is definitely the price. It’s made of some sort of wool, is reversible, and has llamas on it and cost less than $3 USD. What more could you ask for?
Just for fun, I checked out how much some Chullos cost on amazon.com, and other websites.
I found out that there were some selling for $35, like this Arc’teryx one found here on amazon.com.
You can also find it here on backcountry.com
Here are some Chullos that can be found on amazon.com
Do you like buying touristy things? Leave your comment below.
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