What do you know about laurel wood? Would it work for my project?

I am remodeling an old Spanish colonial and am wanting to install wood countertops in the kitchen. The problem is, in the South American country in which I live, oak is unobtainable. My choices are laurel, almond or eucalyptus. Laurel is pretty common here. Would it work well for countertops? Also, what sort of oil would work best? I'm not interested in varnishing it, but Waterlox is not available here, either. TIA!! :)

Given your location, might there be people who make counter tops or already have some in those wood varieties who might be able to give you some advice?

Unless you are planning to create the counters with raw wood, then, I got nuthin'.