Today my teacher and I took another field trip to a local Macadamia estate. 

Valhalla Macadamias

Naturally, we took a chicken bus to get there. 

This isn’t the actual bus we were on, but this will give you the feeling. Imagine a million people packed inside – generally 3 to a seat. 

Macadamia trees grow incredibly quickly and begin producing within just a few years. From babies… 

…to saplings… 

… to nut-bearing trees in about four years. 

Macadamia trees absorb a lot of carbon dioxide and produce a lot of oxygen, so they’re very good for the environment. 

When the macadamias are harvested, they have a green skin over them. A machine is used to separate the skin from the nut. The skin is saved and used as an organic fertilizer. 

Then nuts get spread out in drying trays and are dried for about 20 days. 

Finally, nuts get separated by hand using a simple machine that sorts them by size using the help of gravity. 

Ever wonder why macadamias are so expensive? It’s because a lot has to happen before you enjoy them! 

Of course, we got to sample some roasted macadamias and chocolate covered macadamias at the end of our tour. 

Macadamia oil is supposed to be really good for your skin. The tour ended with an offer of a free macadamia facial. The other students who did the tour with me (from another language school) didn’t want one, but I wasn’t about to pass up a free facial!!! My teacher told me afterward that I looked young enough to be celebrating my quinceañera! 😂

What do you do when you’re in Guatemala’s most photographed bathroom? You take a picture, of course!!! 

If you know me well, you can imagine what happened during the bus ride back to Antigua, being stuck in a crowded bus seat not next to the window, with a bus in front of us belching black clouds of diesel and smoke. Ahhhh… memories of being motion sick around the world. Thankfully a nap after classes cured me of what ails me.