Man! I haven't been here in a long time. Just have not had the time. Oh well - time to try and get back in the swing of things.

Let's keep going on the "Trip Around The World." Next on the list is Alofi. A bit of the history of the island nation of Niue is also given.

The photos are: 1) a street in Alofi; 2) the Coral Chasm in Niue; 3) the coastline of Niue; 4) Niuean dancers at the Pasifika Festival; 5) snorkeling in the waters off Niue; 6) diving in the waters off Niue; and 7) one of the caves of Niue (according to some european cave experts, Niue possesses the most spectacular and extensive cave system in the entire South Pacific).

Alofi is the capital city of the Pacific Ocean nation of Niue. It has a population of 614 (census of 2001). It consists of the two villages Alofi North (pop. 256) and Alofi South, where the government headquarters are located (pop. 358).
It is located at the centre of Alofi Bay on the west coast of the island, close to the only break in the coral reef that surrounds Niue. The bay stretches for 30% of the island's length (about seven kilometres) from Halagigie Point in the south to Makapu Point in the north.
In January 2004, Niue was hit by the fierce tropical storm Cyclone Heta which killed two people and did extensive damage to the entire island. Many of Alofi's buildings were destroyed, including the hospital. Government buildings were shifted to a less exposed site 3 km inland from the west coast, named Fonuakula, after the storm. This site is still within the village boundaries of Alofi South.

Niue is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia". Natives of the island call it "the Rock".
Though self governing, Niue is in free association with New Zealand, and thus lacks full sovereignty. Queen Elizabeth II is also Niue's head of state. Most diplomatic relations are conducted by New Zealand on Niue's behalf.
Niue is 2,400 kilometres northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands. The people are predominantly Polynesian.

Niue was settled by Polynesian sailors from Samoa around AD 900. Further settlers (or invaders) arrived from Tonga in the 16th century.
Until the beginning of the 18th century, there appears to have been no national government or national leader in Niue. Before then, chiefs and heads of families exercised authority over segments of the population. Around 1700 the concept and practice of kingship appears to have been introduced through contact with Samoa or Tonga. From then on, a succession of patu-iki (kings) ruled the island, the first of whom was Puni-mata. Tui-toga, who reigned from 1875 to 1887, was the first Christian king of Niue.
The first European to sight Niue was Captain James Cook in 1774. Cook made three attempts to land on the island but was refused permission to do so by the Polynesian inhabitants. He named the island "Savage Island" because, legend has it, the natives that "greeted" him were painted in what appeared (to Cook and his crew) to be blood. However, the substance on their teeth was that of betel nut and not blood.
For the next couple of centuries the island remained known as Savage Island, until its original name Niu ē, which translates to "behold the coconut", regained use. Its official name is still Niuē fekai (wild Niuē).
The next notable European visitors were from the London Missionary Society and arrived in 1846 on the "Messenger of Peace". After many years of trying to land a European missionary on Niue, a Niuean named Nukai Peniamina was taken away and trained as a Pastor at the Malua Theological College in Samoa. Peniamina returned as a missionary with the help of Toimata Fakafitifonua. He was finally allowed to land in Uluvehi Mutalau after a number of attempts in other villages had failed. The Chiefs of Mutalau village allowed Peniamina to land and assigned over 60 warriors to protect him day and night at the fort in Fupiu. Christianity was first taught to the Mutalau people before it was spread to all the villages on Niue; originally, other major villages opposed the introduction of Christianity and had sought to kill Peniamina. The people from the village of Hakupu, although the last village to receive Christianity, came and asked for a "word of god"; hence their village was renamed "Ha Kupu Atua" meaning "any word of god", or "Hakupu" for short.
In 1887, King Fata-a-iki, who reigned from 1887 to 1896, offered to cede sovereignty over his country to the British Empire, fearing the consequences of annexation by a less benevolent colonial power. The offer was not accepted until 1900.

Niue was a British protectorate for a time, but the UK's involvement ended in 1901 when New Zealand annexed the island. Independence in the form of self-government was granted by the New Zealand parliament with the 1974 constitution. Robert Rex, CMG OBE (who was ethnically part European, part native) was appointed the country's first Premier, a position he continued to hold through re-election until his death 18 years later. Rex became the first Niuean to receive knighthood in 1984.

Today's Jumble (3/27/09):

PRUPE = UPPER; RUFOL = FLOUR; PLENOY = OPENLY; REVOND = VENDOR

CIRCLED LETTERS = EROROPEVD

What the skin doctor did when he examined the patient.

"PORED OVER (HIM)"

Today is National "Joe" Day. Everyone who hates their name can be called Joe today. It is also Fly a Kite Day, Celebrate Exchange Day, Education & Sharing Day, Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day, and Viagra Day (FDA approved Viagra on this day in 1998 - what a rise that created).

Other things on this day in history:

196 BC - Ptolemy V ascendsascends to the throne of Egypt.
1306 - Robert The Bruce is crowned King of Scotland at Scone.
1309 - Pope Clement V excommunicates Venice and all its population.
1329 - Pope John XXII issues his In Agro Dominico condemning some writings of Meister Eckhart as heretical.
1513 (not 1512 as often cited) - Explorer Juan Ponce de León sights North America (specifically Florida) for the first time, mistaking it for another island.
1613 - The first English child born in Canada at Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland to Nicholas Guy.
1625 - Charles I becomes King of England, Scotland and Ireland as well as claiming the title King of France.
1642 - The sixth Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Joseph takes office.
1782 - Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1794 - The United States Government establishes a permanent navy and authorizes the building of six frigates.
1794 - Denmark and Sweden form a neutrality compact.
1814 - War of 1812: In central Alabama, U.S. forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
1836 - Texas Revolution: Goliad massacre - Antonio López de Santa Anna orders the Mexican army to kill about 400 Texans at Goliad, Texas.
1836 - Kirtland Temple in Ohio is dedicated in an 8 hour long service led by Joseph Smith, Jr. and Sidney Rigdon.
1846 - Mexican-American War: Siege of Fort Texas.
1851 - First reported sighting of the Yosemite Valley by Europeans.
1854 - Crimean War: The United Kingdom declares war on Russia.
1868 - The Lake Ontario Shore Railroad Company is organized in Oswego, New York.
1871 - The first international rugby football match, England v. Scotland, is played in Edinburgh at Raeburn Place.
1881 - Rioting takes place in Basingstoke in protest against the daily vociferous promotion of rigid Temperance by the Salvation Army.
1890 - A tornado strikes Louisville, Kentucky, killing 76 and injuring 200.
1906 - The Alpine Club of Canada is founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba
1910 - A fire during a barn-dance in Ököritófülpös, Hungary, kills 312.
1918 - Moldova and Bessarabia join Romania.
1938 - The Battle of Taierzhuang takes place.
1941 - World War II: Yugoslavian Air Force officers topple the pro-axis government in a bloodless coup.
1943 - World War II: Battle of the Komandorski Islands - In the Aleutian Islands the battle begins when United States Navy forces intercept Japanese attempting to reinforce a garrison at Kiska.
1945 - World War II: Operation Starvation, the aerial mining of Japan's ports and waterways begins.
1948 - The Second Congress of the Workers Party of North Korea is convened.
1958 - Nikita Khrushchev becomes Premier of the Soviet Union.
1963 - Beeching axe: Dr. Richard Beeching issues a report calling for huge cuts to the United Kingdom's rail network.
1964 - The Good Friday Earthquake, the most powerful earthquake in U.S. history at a magnitude of 9.2 strikes South Central Alaska, killing 125 people and inflicting massive damage to the city of Anchorage.
1969 - Mariner 7 is launched.
1970 - Concorde makes its first supersonic flight.
1975 - Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins.
1976 - The first 4.6 miles of the Washington Metro subway system opens.
1977 - Tenerife disaster: Two Boeing 747 airliners collide on a foggy runway on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 (all 248 on KLM and 335 on Pan Am). 61 survived on the Pan Am flight.
1980 - The Norwegian oil platform Alexander Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212.
1986 - A car bomb explodes at Russell Street Police HQ in Melbourne, killing 1 police officer and injuring 21 people.
1990 - The United States begins broadcasting TV Martí to Cuba in an effort to bridge the information blackout imposed by the Castro regime.
1993 - Jiang Zemin is appointed President of the People's Republic of China.
1993 - Italian former minister and Christian Democracy leader Giulio Andreotti is accused of mafia allegiance by the tribunal of Palermo.
1994 - One of the biggest tornado outbreaks in recent memory hits the Southeastern United States. One tornado slams into a church in Piedmont, Alabama during Palm Sunday services killing 20 and injuring 90.
1994 - The Eurofighter takes its first flight in Manching, Germany.
1998 - The Food and Drug Administration approves Viagra for use as a treatment for male impotence, the first pill to be approved for this condition in the United States.
1999 - An F-117 Nighthawk is shot down during the Kosovo War.
2000 - A Phillps Petroleum plant explosion in Pasadena, Texas kills 1 and injures 71.
2002 - Passover Massacre: A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 29 people partaking of the Passover meal in Netanya, Israel.
2004 - HMS Scylla (F71), a decommissioned Leander class frigate, is sunk as an artificial reef off Cornwall, the first of its kind in Europe.
2006 - The United Nations Commission on Human Rights holds its final meeting.