Talk the Talk: A Mayakoba Glossary

Mayakoba: ?city on the water? in Maya.

Ceiba: the Ceiba pentandra, a tropical tree revered by the Maya, who believed that a ceiba grew at the center of the earth, coupling the earth with the spirit world above it. Souls could ascent to the spirit world via the long, thick vines that hung from its branches. Under its umbrella-shaped canopy, many plants and animals take shelter, from epiphytes (aerial plants) to monkeys, frogs and birds. Seen most prominently at the front gate of Mayakoba, where four ceiba are planted in the north-south-east-west configuration esteemed by the Maya.

Cenote: large underground caverns or sinkholes occurring naturally in the limestone bedrock of the Riviera Maya. Sacred places to the ancient Maya. Cenotes are given star treatment at Mayakoba: among others one can be found on the first hole of the golf course, another in the center of the spa belonging to Laguna Kai, A Rosewood Resort.

Laguna Kai: ?song of the lagoon? in Maya.

Manatee: a welcome inhabitant of Mayakoba?s lagoons.

Mangrove: tropical, maritime woody trees or shrubs that harbor and feed abundant life - monkeys, fish, crustaceans and birds. Their bottom roots stabilize sand and mud, thus slowing the water flow and preserving the coastline. Their aerial roots and salt-filtering tap roots allow them to thrive in brackish water. They buffer the fierce winds and waves of cyclones. Also a natural water filter, the mangrove accommodates sponges, shellfish and barnacles on its underground roots; they clean the water, which travels into the sea and allows the coral reef to thrive.

Palapa: the sharply pitched grass roof indigenous to the Riviera Maya. Appears frequently at Mayakoba, on the main entrance as well as beach houses.

Socoleo: a Maya technique for managing the forest, used by the biologists at Mayakoba.

Seashore papalum: the salt-tolerant grass used for Mayakoba?s golf course, copes with heat as well as brackish water.

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