The Latest Family Adventure; Ensa, Power Outages in Colón and San Miguelito; Minsa Opens Vaccination Center at Parque Omar; Panama and the Region Assess Response Capacity to Risks; Property Highlights; Some Pictures of our Vacation.

Friday, June 16, 2023 Never has the world experienced such a compelling personality dreamt of or divined, as that of my Queen, Sayira.  Always at the ready for the latest family adventure, always thinking ahead to our internal mini-celebrations and always happy to make us happy, she truly is the spark that keeps our family alive. Last week, we all went on a quick adventure to my home state of Wisconsin.  Well, first we stopped off at Chicago to visit the Field Museum, swim in sprinkles at the Museum of Ice Cream, eat deep dish pizza, watch the Taylor Swift concert from the rooftop of a neighboring building, watch the Navey Pier fireworks and go around their Ferris wheel, and get bludgeoned with insults at the Weiner Circle.  Young Brandon was flipped off by one of the cute waitresses too, and all he did was say thanks for the hot dog… …check out the video:  Then it was on the Sparta-Elroy trail.  I’ve found that maps don’t really give you the proper feel of distance; you truly need to ride the trail to understand what 20 miles is really like on a bicycle.  The trail used to be a train path that passed through 3 tunnels.  They decommissioned the trains and removed the tracks years ago, opening the possibility of locals and travelers an experience like no other.  The temperature of the tunnels drops so drastically, that you can feel the cold from them at least 200 yards before arriving.  The water filtrating through created these massive stalactites that need to be removed every now and again and the walls look and feel like slick marble.  It’s cold enough to where you see your breath and the drops of “rain” cause chills on contact with exposed skin. The next three days weren’t the greatest though as all of us got sick with the flu.  First me, then Brandon, Sayira and Brett Jr in that order seemingly each within 12 hours of the other.  I won’t go into the details, but if you’ve ever heard of Montezuma’s Revenge, all I can say is that he’s a worthy foe who I never want to meet up with again. On our way back we took in a Brewer’s game.  They lost to the seemingly paltry Oakland A’s 2-1 in overtime, but the game was still filled with excitement and a few amazing plays by both teams. But alas, it was time to return.  I think the only thing I don’t like about coming back to Panama is that gust of hot air we get coming off the plane while still on the tarmac.  Wow, it gets hot out there, eh? TOP NEWS and TIDBITS: Yoli’s Wisdom WORLD BLOOD DONOR DAY: LEARN WHICH BLOOD TYPES ARE MOST NEEDED World Blood Donor Day. Every June 14th, World Blood Donor Day is celebrated to express gratitude to all individuals who voluntarily donate blood and help save lives. It also aims to promote better measures to ensure universal access to safe blood transfusions. In Panama, Elvin López has become one of these heroes since he made the decision to become a voluntary blood donor in 2001. Undoubtedly, the countless lives he has managed to save are remarkable. \”I come every four months to donate and do it to help those in need. Additionally, they conduct blood tests here that allow me to know about my health,\” shared López, who currently works at the Panama Canal Authority (ACP). During the months of April and May of this year, there was a slight increase in the number of donors, surpassing a thousand people. \”Despite these figures, it is never enough, and this is a practice that should be encouraged, considering that blood is the only medicine that cannot be manufactured,\” emphasized Arthur Bradley, the medical technologist in charge of the Blood Donation Center at the Social Security Fund (CSS). Bradley added that the most required blood type is O+, while O- and AB- are the most difficult to obtain. Requirements According to the Social Security Fund (CSS), the main requirements to be a blood donor are: This process takes approximately 5 to 10 minutes and can be done at two centers of the institution located at: READ HERE: DÍA MUNDIAL DEL DONANTE DE SANGRE: CONOZCA QUÉ TIPOS DE SANGRE SON LOS MÁS REQUERIDOS ENSA, WITHOUT POWER: SECTORS IN COLÓN AND SAN MIGUELITO GET READY! ENSA, without power: Areas in Colón and San Miguelito, get ready! Elektra Noreste S.A. (ENSA) has announced that they will carry out various power supply interruptions on Saturday, June 17, 2023, in different sectors of the Colón province and the San Miguelito district. These are maintenance works by the company to ensure reliable energy supply to all homes in our concession area. In the San Miguelito district, Amelia Denis de Icaza and Pan de Azúcar townships will experience a 4-hour power outage (9:30 a.m. – 01:30 p.m.). ENSA explains that the task involves maintenance work on the electrical network. In the Colón province, there will also be interruptions in the following townships: A total of 1945 customers are expected to be without electricity for 4 to 5 hours. ENSA Communiqué Meanwhile, in the Ancón township, Panama district, the Camino de Cruces residential area will be affected by a power outage due to maintenance work by ENSA for a duration of 5 hours from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. READ HERE: ENSA, SIN LUZ: SECTORES EN COLÓN Y SAN MIGUELITO ¡PREPÁRENSE! CUSTOMS INFORMS TRANSPORTERS OF RULES FOR ENTERING EL SALVADOR Customs. The National Customs Authority informs international land freight transporters that starting from Saturday, July 17, every cargo unit entering El Salvador will be required to have a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, which has three designated placement points in Panama. Customs: Placement points for labels in Panama What are radio frequency tags? Radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags are intelligent tags that store data to be transmitted via radiofrequency to RFID readers or antennas. The tags,