The Queen has her Military; Panama City Hall Begins Vehicle Sticker Distribution for April; Requirements for Traveling to European Countries from Panama; ENA, Partial Closures on the North Corridor Eastbound this Weekend; Lakes.

Friday, July 28, 2023 When it comes to my never-ending practical jokes, profound embarrassment and finely directed personalized sarcasm, my boys are fair game for me.  Delving into what some may call borderline child torture, I try to put them both into scenarios that force them to lash back at me with fervor.  Not with disrespect, just fervor.  Last weekend, I took them fishing.  Yes, “again”.  And we’re probably going this weekend as well, if it isn’t pouring rain out. Once we got the boat into the water and the poles were ready to attack the local species around the Fort Espinar public boat landing on the Colon side, I got to the front of the boat to manipulate the trolling motor.  After nearly an hour at the helm, I was gliding our vessel through the tree trunks which protruded more than 5 feet out of the water due to our local drought.  Quite confident in my graceful abilities, I wasn’t paying attention as I was simultaneously casting my lure in one direction and moving our boat in another.  The boys had been arguing about who the better fisherperson was between them (which is ridiculous because they hadn’t caught anything yet), when I bumped into one of the vertical logs. The boys stumbled but didn’t go into the brink… …”Darn, no splash!”, I said out loud. Brandon, picking up on the joke, spoke up first, “Oh no, we’re going down!”, he said with a grin.  “If you survive, tell you mother that I love her!!”, I yelled out jokingly.  “A crew always goes down with their ship.”, Brett Jr stated.  “Oh no sir, just the captain goes down with the ship.  And you’re the captain.”, I clarified.  “I’m not the captain, YOU’RE the captain.”, he said kinda upset that I had given him such a prestigious title.  “I clearly heard someone say earlier, `Hey, that’s Brett Mikkelson, the captain… …he’s a cool guy´, and I knew they must’ve been talkin’ about my son!”, I continued to prod. “I’ll accept the title of captain when I start making the big bucks.”, he finalized.  Yep, it can truly be a blast when you share your name with your son. So yesterday, when I got home from work, I was looking for him and yelled out, “Hey Brett, where are you?”.  He popped his head from around a corner and clarified, “That’s CAPTAIN Brett, if you don’t mind.  Do you have our allowance?”  Immediately behind him Brandon spoke up, “And you can call me Sergeant Brandon!  Cha-ching!!!”  I forgot it was payday.  And that’s how the Queen gained her own military force financed by yours truly.  I’ll find out what my rank is this weekend when all 4 of us are in the boat. TOP NEWS and TIDBITS: Yoli’s Wisdom REQUIREMENTS TO TRAVEL TO EUROPEAN COUNTRIES FROM PANAMA Requirements to travel to European countries from Panama. Starting from the year 2024, Panamanian citizens will be required to complete an ETIAS permit application before boarding a flight to 23 European countries. For this reason, we are explaining the requirements that you must not forget before purchasing your airplane ticket to Europe. Firstly, it is important to explain the meaning of ETIAS, which stands for the European Travel Information and Authorization System. Panamanian citizens will be required to apply for this permit to enter the participating European countries for short stays of less than 90 days, for purposes such as tourism, business, transit, or medical reasons. The ETIAS program is intended to control travelers arriving from abroad in response to the global increase in terrorist activities. Other requirements necessary to enter Europe from Panama It is important to take into account that when applying for the ETIAS permit or visa, Panamanian citizens can request it online, and the following points should be considered: An important piece of information is that ETIAS permit applications submitted by Panamanian citizens will typically be processed and approved within minutes, and the authorizations will be sent via email in the form of a PDF document. It is not necessary to print or present any documents since the ETIAS permit will be electronically linked to the corresponding passport details stored in the European immigration system. Countries that are part of the ETIAS permit The 23 countries that are part of the Schengen group and can only be entered with the ETIAS permit are: It is important to mention that these countries are known as nations that signed the Schengen agreement and, in addition, they do not have internal border controls, allowing for the free movement of people as if it were a single country. However, this is not the case for all members of the European Union (EU), as the primary focus of this organization lies on economic and political matters. READ HERE: REQUISITOS PARA VIAJAR A PAÍSES EUROPEOS DESDE PANAMÁ MINSA WARNS ABOUT FRAUDULENT CHARGES TO MERCHANTS MINSA warns about fraudulent charges to merchants. The National Directorate of Food Control and Veterinary Surveillance (DNCAVV) of the Ministry of Health (MINSA) issues a warning to sanitary-interest commercial establishments, system users, and the general population regarding scams involving fraudulent charges by individuals who do not belong to the institution. These scammers make threats of imposing sanctions such as fines, closure of the premises, and fees for processing paperwork. MINSA informs the public that all officials are always in uniform and carry identification from the competent authority. During inspections, a record of the inspection is left in the form of an inspection report. Requests for food health registrations for human consumption are made through the Integrated System of Procedures (SIT) of the Panamanian Food Agency (APA). Payments related to this process are made in cash or certified checks payable to the National Treasury at the central treasury cashier of MINSA. A receipt is provided for the payment. Online payments, yappy, credit or debit card payments are not accepted. MINSA urges affected individuals to file complaints with the competent authorities for appropriate investigations.