Ecuador Part Two

 

This week I am sharing a little more about Ecuador.

Encebollado is widely recognized as the national dish of Ecuador. It's a hearty fish stew, often made with tuna, and features a prominent onion flavour, along with cassava, tomatoes, and cilantro. While other dishes like ceviche and bolon de verde are also popular and sometimes cited as national dishes, encebollado is generally considered the most representative of Ecuadorian cuisine.

Their national animal is the Andean condor. It is also the national bird of several other South American countries, including Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia. The Andean condor is a large bird of prey and holds significance in Andean folklore and mythology. 

They have a national flower it is the Chuquiragua (Chuquiraga jussieui). It's also known as the "Flower of the Andes". While red roses are a popular and important flower cultivated in Ecuador, the Chuquiragua holds the official designation.

It’s not surprising that the national sport is Football (soccer). Amateur weekend games are played in parks, plazas, and vacant lots around the country. The national team has enjoyed success in regional competitions and in the World Cup.

Ecuador is known for its low cost of living, particularly when compared to countries like Australia or the US. A couple can live comfortably on less than $23,000 per year, enjoying things like nice apartments, frequent dining out, and even a house cleaning service. Housing costs are significantly lower, with rentals ranging from $300-$1300 per month depending on location and amenities. 

 

Some Sunday Questions

 

Came across these questions over here: https://lemonscottage.blogspot.com/

So decided to post them here with my answers.

What is something you should throw away, but just can't bring yourself to part with?

My collection of Trixie Beldon books got my first one when I was 9yrs old and just can’t part with them.

When you make yourself a sandwich, do you cut it on the diagonal, straight up the middle, or not at all?

Depends on the bread some I cut diagonal usually twice, so I have four small triangles other bread I cut into four small squares.

What song or sound brings back memories of childhood?

Can’t think of any one song, there are many different songs that when I hear them take me back to my childhood.

Who is the first person you call when you have good news?

For many years it would have been my mum, but the last couple of years it has been my sister Sue.

Have you ever set out on a walk in the rain?

Yep I have done way back when.

Week 26 of 2025

I slept for 8hrs and 54mins and I was awake for 36mins, and woke feeling good, although it took me a while to get moving when the alarm went off.

I have had a productive morning did two loads of washing, tossed the sheets into the dryer but hung the clothes on the clothes hoists and took them outside to dry.  Also put the work shirts in the dryer so they shouldn’t be too difficult to iron.

BGL:5.2

Steps:5,758=3.00klms

My watch says I slept for 5hrs and 3mins and I was awake for 8mins, maybe that’s why I don’t feel fully with it. I will have a shower after Tim leaves for work as I am going to the doctors and my hair feels yuck. I also am going to have my blood taken for my six-monthly blood work check.

After the blood was taken, we drove Sam to Tafe and then I went to the doctors for a new referral to see the neurologist that appointment is on the 14 July and is a telehealth appointment. He also said my eye has healed nicely after the fall.

Sue made my appointment with the optometrist that this Saturday at 11am.

Also went and picked up scripts from the chemist.

Tim rang to let me know he will not be home till around 10pm, he is doing emergency rail.

7,351=3.68klms

My watch says I slept for 7hrs and 43mins and I was awake for 7mins, I do feel ok at the moment as in awake and functioning.

No school for Sam today she has an 11am appointment with the hairdresser and Jess can’t see the point of sending her for only a couple of hours.

It is a cold day, and we have had rain around 11am. Around 2pm someone came and repaired the roof so hopefully no more leak.  

Sam haircut looks good.

BGL: 5.2

Steps: 4,688 which equals around 2.35klms

My watch says I slept for 8hrs and 20mins and I was awake for 48mins, I am feeling good this morning, have already vacuumed out and tidied the kitchen.

After Sam left for school, I decided to mop the bathroom and kitchen floors, while doing the bathroom my right knee felt like it started to dislocate but then it didn’t, and the knee has been very sore and unstable since.

When I go to meet Sam this afternoon, I am going to use the scooter as it feels like it may give way at any moment.

Just had plumbers arrive to look at the roof, I told them someone was here yesterday he said he would check it out anyway. I was waiting for him to come and tell me if all was good but nope, he just left.

BGL: 5.1

Steps:6,015= 3.11klms

My watch says I slept for 8hrs and 56mins and I was awake for 14mins, I had a shower and let the hot water run over my knee and it has helped with the pain and movement.

Sue and I went to Charlestown Square to meet up with Sandy and she had Denni with her and our niece Samantha was there and her eldest Hayley and our nephew Dawson was also there it was really great seeing everyone. Sue did her grocery shopping and then we left, by the time I got home I was barely able to move.

I put a heat pack on my right knee and sat and rested for a while after an hour or, so I was doing much better and able to walk and move without too much pain.

I still took the scooter up to meet Sam by Monday I am hoping I will be ok.

BGL: 5.2

Steps:5,111=2.56klms

My watch says I slept for 9hrs and 57mins and I was awake for 55mins, my knees yes both of them are painful this morning.

I did a load of washing and hung it up to dry and by the time I was done I was exhausted, and my back ached something shocking. I had to have a rest before doing anything else. I didn’t take the washing outside as it felt like it could rain, and it did end up raining around 1pm.

Thankfully it wasn’t raining when I went to meet Sam.

I am extremely tired this arvo and even though it’s only 6.30pm I am off to bed as I am falling asleep sitting here.

BGL:5.8

Steps: 4,506=2.30klm

My watch says I slept for 10hrs and 41mins and I didn’t wake at all during the night. I am feeling fine this morning and have already vacuumed once and cleaned the kitchen.

Sue took me to have my eyes checked and all is good with them.

It has been a cold day; Tim has been saying he is bored as the yard is too soggy to work on. After a while he found something to do but once he did that he was bored again.

Steps:5,129=2.62klm’s

 

 

 

 

 

Caturday

 

Hello everyone it is my time to feature on Caturday,, this is me Archie when I was a tiny kitten this  was taken just after my mum adopted me, wasn’t I oh so cute , I am sitting on mum’s lap.

Scared Band if Thebes

 

Today I am writing a post suggested by and for my transgender granddaughter Sam, who is mentioned often in my diary posts, she has learnt a bit about these soldiers, I think at school, abut I am not 100% sure about that.

Anyway, the subject is The Sacred Band of Thebes.

The Sacred Band of Thebes was an elite heavy infantry of select soldiers, allegedly consisting of 150 pairs of male couples which formed the elite force of the Theban army in the 4th century BC, ending Spartan domination. Its predominance began with its crucial role in the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC.

They were formed under the leadership of Gorgidas but first ac

hieved fame under the general Pelopidas. They remained invincible from 378-338 BCE when the entire troop fell together at the Battle of Chaeronea.

The military unit is first mentioned in 324 BCE in a speech, but their full story wasn’t known to much later.

The Sacred Band were deployed early in the Boeotian War in 378 BCE under Gorgidas but became famous for their participation in the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE. They remained undefeated until the decisive battle of Chaeronea in 338 BCE when the Macedonians under Philip II and his son Alexander the Great crushed the combined forces of Thebes and Athens.

The Sacred Band fell together as a single unit and, according to Plutarch, were mourned by Philip II of Macedon himself as valiant warriors. They would later became legendary figures exemplifying courage and military strength.

The city of Thebes, where this band had been founded in 378 BCE was particularly unique in how it regarded the love, between men. A young Plato is thought to have said “the rule has been laid down straightforwardly that it is right to gratify (male) lovers, and no one, young or old, would say that it is wrong."

Of course, it was not uncommon for male-male encounters to be pursued by ancient Greek soldiers, demonstrated through the institutionalised practices of homoeroticism in Spartan militia and the cities of Crete.

The very act of homoeroticism was thoroughly incorporated into the educational systems of the Greek world. It was a means to lead a boy into adulthood, and by the Classical period, it extended into higher culture: “from the military to athletic games, from philosophy to historiography.”  

But why would Thebes want to specifically create an elite unit of bonded male lovers, if homoeroticism was already part-and-parcel of ancient Greece’s cultural fabric?

According to Plato’s philosophical thought, lover-soldiers would inspire the courage and bravery needed on the battlefield. Plato tells us that:

The last person a lover could bear to be seen by, when leaving his place in the battleline or abandoning his weapons, is his boyfriend; instead, he’d prefer to die many times. As for abandoning his boyfriend or failing to help him in danger – no one is such a coward that he could not be inspired into courage by love and made the equal of someone who’s naturally very brave. — The Symposium, 179a’

It is said that such was the powerful display of love that it brought the great king to tears. So, to mark the burial site, a marble lion was erected in honour of the fallen, acting as a “symbol of their courage.”

The Lion of Chaeronea is still standing. It's a funerary monument erected in honour of the Theban Sacred Band, who died in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. The monument was rediscovered in 1818 and later restored, and it remains a prominent landmark near the battle site. 

This once-famous troop of heroes is often passed over in discussions of Greek history possibly because they were gay and the concept of a victorious unit of gay warriors is at odds with the prevalent homophobia of the present day.

As LGBTQ+ activism makes more progress in educating people, however, the Sacred Band of Thebes is again receiving the kind of recognition they deserve.

 

A post with links to other posts

Here are the new links to other posts over at Random Stuff

https://jamfn.blogspot.com/2025/06/swallowing-issues.html

https://jamfn.blogspot.com/2025/06/this-months-sister-poem.html

https://jamfn.blogspot.com/2025/06/history-of-child-labour-laws.html

https://jamfn.blogspot.com/2025/06/junes-last-hodgepodge.html

https://jamfn.blogspot.com/2025/06/tuesdays-four-on-thursday_26.html

 

Mount Gambier

 

This week we are looking at the second largest city/town in South Australia, which is Mount Gambier, with a population of over 26,000. It is located on the Limestone Coast. It is in the southeastern corner of South Australia.

The town was founded by Hastings Cunningham and was first called "Gambierton" in 1854 by subdividing a block of 77 acres (31 ha). From 1861 to 1878, the Post Office was known by this name before reverting to Mount Gambier.

It’s known for its limestone, volcanic landscape and crater lakes. One of these, Blue Lake, turns cobalt blue in summer. Nearby, the Centenary Tower offers panoramic views of the area. The Umpherston Sinkhole contains a lush sunken garden. The Lady Nelson Visitor Centre houses a full-size replica of a late-18th-century ship.

Mount Gambier's history is marked by its volcanic origins, early European exploration, and development as a significant regional centre in South Australia. The extinct volcano, Mount Gambier, was first sighted by Lieutenant James Grant in 1800 and named after Admiral James Gambier. European settlement began in the 1840s, with the area becoming a major agricultural and timber centre.

The traditional owners of the Mount Gambier area are the Boandik people, also known as the Bungandidj. They are the First Nations people of the region, and their language and culture are deeply connected to the land and waterways. The name "Bungandidj" is said to mean "people of the reeds". 

Organizations like the City of Mount Gambier and headspace Mount Gambier formally acknowledge the Boandik people as the traditional custodians. 

There's a growing movement to recognize the Boandik presence and connection to the land through dual naming of significant sites, alongside their European names. 

The Bungandidj language is being revitalized, and efforts are underway to reintroduce it into the community. 

The Boandik people have a long and rich history in the region, and their stories and cultural knowledge are important to the area's identity. 

Mount Gambier is generally considered a safe place, but like any location, it has areas where caution is advised, especially at night or in more remote areas. While some crime statistics show increases in thefts and break-ins, these are not indicative of the overall safety of the city for residents and visitors.