Coming soon to this website are detailed summaries of the day-to-day action from Saturday, January 19, to Monday, January 21. In the meantime, here’s the schedule of activities:

Saturday, January 19

• 2:30 PM — Sadsad (Attire: Blue Kimpo shirt), meeting place at Lolo Mading’s ancestral home
• 7:00 PM — Dinner at Letty Venus Residence

Sunday, January 20

• 9:00 AM — Sadsad (Attire: Pink Kimpo shirt), meeting place at Lolo Mading’s ancestral home
• 12:00 NN — Lunch at Nenette’s Garden; launching ceremony of the Jones and Agnes Castillo Memorial Mission, Inc.
• 7:00 PM — Dinner at Lolo Mading’s ancestral home

Monday, January 21

• Morning — Mass at Numancia Church, followed by the visit to Numancia Cemetery for the flower offering at the tomb of Lolo Juan and Lola Ganday
• 11:00 AM — Registration at the Aklan Training Center for the Reunion
• Noon up to Dinner — Kimpo Reunion proper

You can view lots of photos from the Reunion at Bing Kimpo’s Picasa web album. For those who are looking to contribute more pics (whether taken by a digicam or a cellphone cam), please drop a comment after the end of this post and we’ll tell you how. Here are some teaser pics:

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Remember, you can view all the pics of the Kimpo Reunion at Bing Kimpo’s Picasa gallery.

Mimi was interred yesterday, January 29, 2008 at the Himlayang Pilipino.

Prayers for the soul of Mimi and the loved ones she left behind will be much appreciated from both relatives and friends.

Yep, my family is from Aklan, proud mother of Boracay, and that is why in my childhood years I was able to enjoy the white sands almost every year. But somehow since I stepped into high school, I couldn’t find the time to visit my old love. My trips to Kalibo, capital of Aklan didn’t stop, which just made the yearning for the beach grow stronger — I often found myself just a two-hour ride and a short ferry trip away from Boracay!

So you could just imagine the almost surreal feeling I got when I disembarked from the rickety boat onto the fine, ivory sands dotted with…seaweed. Yeah, the whole (extended) family made the trip in Boracay’s off-season — the merry month of August when tourists are relatively scarcer, the winds are fierce, the suntan is a near impossibility, the rain is intermittent, the waters are choppy, and the waves are huge (you’ve got to experience being slammed back onto the shore after wading chin-high in the water just two seconds earlier!). At least, you’ve got the beach all to yourselves.

How was world-renowned Boracay from the perspective of someone who went AWOL for ten years? Great, as always — the beach was magnificent, the nightlife was crazy, and the food was sumptuous — though I took some time to absorb the changes that have marked Bora’s landscape since the last time I roamed it. Here’s a trifecta of them:

1) The small bamboo/nipa cottages have almost gone the way of the dodo. Most of them have been replaced by concrete inns and apartelles, not to mention the sprawling hotels (some of which have been developed by Koreans to accommodate…Koreans).

2) The windscreen/sandscreen/whatever installed on the beachfront wasn’t pleasing to the eyes at first glance — hey, I want a clear view of the beach from the open area bar! — but you’ve got to thank their presence when the wind’s slamming the shore and (1) the sand’s not getting into your eyes, (2) the sand’s not getting into your food, (3) the sand’s not getting into your booze, and (4) your clothes are still on.

3) D’Mall. Or D-Mall. Or D*Mall (that’s what the beach sign says). Heck, let’s just call it “The Mall”. You and I might spell it differently, but we’ll agree that this shopping complex makes Bora more sophisticated. Great shops, great buys; just make sure you’ve got dough, as many products here are priced for the foreigner and his almighty dollar.

All in all, Boracay became more mature, more hectic, more urbanized. The Boracay I had known ten years ago was a bit more rustic. But of course, ten years ago I was still in grade school, so it might just be me.

The family (oops, I forgot — the extended family) split up and stayed in two separate places. The oldies had the privilege of lodging in the prestigious Fairways and Bluewater Resort, while the young ones checked in at the Paulazaros Inn. While not exactly a luxurious suite, the latter offers great rooms at an affordable price suited for mid-income vacationers. (I’m beginning to sound like a holiday plan salesman, so I’ll stop.) The inn is also a mere twenty seconds’ walk from the beachfront, so I guess you can call the location convenient. While it doesn’t have a view of the sea, you have a superb vista of the island’s little green mountain to compensate (why, you thought Boracay was flat?).

What’s a sojourn at a tropical paradise without the booze and heart-thumping music? The two nights we spent at Boracay found me and my cousins drunk and dazed at two hubs of the island’s night life — the famous Cocomangas and Summer Place. Considering that the night before our trip to Bora was a tequila-laced one (at a wedding reception in mainland Aklan), that made for three straight hangover days for yours truly. Ah, the good life!…ends quite abruptly due to a wrecked liver, I guess.

Three days and two nights. Flew past my face so fast I can’t even play back a good rewind. Therefore, the only option is to repeat those three days and two nights. They more than made up for the ten years of absence, and heck, they convinced me enough for a return trip…soon.

Originally published in Slip of the Pen (complete with pictures) and Boracay.com.ph.

Catch Phillip Kimpo Jr. (”Phlip-Phlip”) at Nancy Castiglione’s show At Your Pleasure, Nancy airing at 7 P.M. tomorrow, November 18, on the new Makisig Network (channel 76/82 at SkyCable/HomeCable, ch. 84 if you have an analog box installed).

Phlip and Nancy will be talking about his collection of airplane collector’s models. You can read about his experiences in taping the show at his writing blog.

Phlip previously guested at the Youthlinks radio program of DZSR on October 27 (read his blog post).

Update: You can view photos of the guesting on Phlip’s Aircraft Models Crux.

If you’re a Kimpo who’s looking for an online presence, whether it’s a simple space for your resume or a full-fledged blog, head over to the Hosted Sites page for instructions. Don’t forget to see the example at Phillip.Kimpo.ph.

While busy hands are taking care of the Reunion book, schedule of events, fundraising, and family directory, the action is heating up on the Internet as well. Last March 2007 saw the launch of the Kimpo International Reunion 2008 website, and this month, November, is witness to the “soft launch” of the unifying online portal for all Kimpos — Kimpo.ph.

The Reunion will be held on January 21, 2008 in Kalibo, Aklan, although the Clan’s festivities will happen before and after that date. In the days leading to the “grand homecoming”, Kimpos from all over the Philippines and the world will participate in the massive revelry known as “Ati-Atihan”. In the days following the Reunion (with family members probably suffering from hangover), Kimpos will troop to the white beaches of Boracay.

January 2008 is still some weeks away, but the excitement in the air is already very much palpable!