Apia hosts the final

Apia is set to host the final of the Pacific Nations Cup. Walking and talking the streets everyone is buzzing about their local team Upolu Samoa who will be defending their title in tomorrows final. Life here is laid back and as my taxi driver drove slowly through Apia town he let me know the low down on the scene here. People take a long time to think when you ask who their favourite player is, this question had my driver ponder for another 5 minutes before he asked do you mean in Samoa? Or anywhere in the world? This seriousness and passion is set to see Apia park packed with cheering Samoans in the final tomorrow.

Most of everyday life is horizontal, people stroll the sidewalk in flip flops and always have time to stop and talk. The woman have flowers in their hair and walk as if they are dancing. Things are colourful and the overall feeling is very safe, the locals say hello and the last thing they say in a cool Samoan accent is “I hope you have a nice day”. The markets are bustling and ice cold coconuts are 1 Tala & for 30 Tala($15 AUST) you can buy a bundle of muscle food- the Taamu. This root crop is a certainty in the Samoan diet and will add strength to them this week. Apia people are perfect hosts and no doubt this will continue until kick-off for the final. As the kick is made this is when war starts, it will be all on then and the bruising side of Samoa will come to the fore.


As a matter of interest my driver Taimi rated Mikaele Pesameno as his man.