{"product_id":"birkenstocks-in-the-cordillera-a-journey-home-through-the-philippines-northern-highlands-travel-memoir-of-shared-discoveries","title":"Birkenstocks in the Cordillera: A Journey Home Through the Philippines’ Northern Highlands (Travel Memoir of Shared Discoveries)","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e \u003cspan\u003eThree weeks after returning from Portugal, LJ Baqutoy and her partner Claus boarded a plane from New York to Manila. Their destination: the Cordillera mountains of Northern Luzon, where LJ had grown up in the town of Sagada before spending three decades in New York City. What followed was a month-long journey that took them from the sacred slopes of Mount Pulag to the ghost towns of the northern coast and into the heart of what it means to bring the person you love into the landscape that made you.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBirkenstocks in the Cordillera\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a contemplative travel memoir that tells of the story of that journey. Claus, a German man in his eighties who wore his Birkenstocks everywhere, despised American beer, and took quiet pride in defying every expectation about age, had visited Sagada once before and fallen in love with it. Now, returning with LJ, he chopped firewood in his sandals, played Chinese checkers by the fireplace, drank Red Horse beer, and swam in the South China Sea just weeks after swimming in the Mediterranean.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTogether with LJ’s siblings and their indispensable driver-guide Ben, they climbed a mountain where indigenous peoples believe the souls of the dead reside. They lit \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003esaeng\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, sacred pitchwood, at family graves on All Souls’ Eve. They drove the treacherous Halsema Highway through an earthquake, ate empanadas at the northern tip of Luzon Island, and stood before a lighthouse whose caretaker had given it a voice and a poem. Along the way, they encountered the beauty and complexity of the Ilocos coast, its colonial churches, its windmill farms, its political mansions, and its pandemic-ravaged beach towns, discovering that not every destination delivers what it promises, but the road always gives you something worth keeping.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWritten in the same contemplative, intimate voice as \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSaudade, Porto\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, this second volume in the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTravel Memoir of Shared Discoveries \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eseries is a love letter to the Philippines, to the Cordillera mountains, and to the man who found a home there, not by birth but by choice, not through grand gestures but through the simple acts of splitting wood, tending a fire, and standing beside the woman he loved at the graves of her ancestors.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book is for readers of travel memoirs, Filipino diaspora literature, and anyone who has ever brought a loved one home and watched them fall in love with the place that made you.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eInside this transformative journey, you’ll discover:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHow immersive travel can awaken a sense of purpose\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and reconnect you with what truly matters\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe power of returning “home” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eand how it can reveal parts of yourself long forgotten\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhat it means to travel as a pilgrim, not just a tourist\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and why that shift changes everything\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHow shared journeys can deepen relationships\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, offering new ways to see each other and yourself\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe courage to face your past\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and transform it into a source of strength and meaning\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA renewed appreciation for simplicity\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, nature, and the wisdom of indigenous landscapes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHow stepping into discomfort can expand your world\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e in ways comfort never could\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePermission to rewrite your story\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, no matter where you are in life\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eThis is not just a journey across mountains. It’s a journey inward. It is a reminder that \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003efeeling lost is often the beginning of finding your way\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. These places we come from and the places we dare to explore hold the quiet power to reshape who we are becoming.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYour life is not fixed. Your story is still unfolding, waiting for you to step into it with intention, curiosity, and courage.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIf you’re ready to move beyond feeling stuck and into a life of deeper connection and discovery, this book is your invitation.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTake the first step, and walk with purpose into your next chapter.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books Prime","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45914035224767,"sku":"adeed489-9728-47b0-bc01-be793905c8ef","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0761\/7550\/7647\/files\/74b8f5389ea421e7ca3196ecbb8a5aca.jpg?v=1785053931","url":"https:\/\/books-prime.com\/products\/birkenstocks-in-the-cordillera-a-journey-home-through-the-philippines-northern-highlands-travel-memoir-of-shared-discoveries","provider":"Books Prime","version":"1.0","type":"link"}