Originally uploaded on Aug 22, 2021

This is a sacred tree for the Mayans, representing communication between heaven and the underworld. Its trunk and branches support the sky and its roots penetrate the Mayan underworld. The Mayans believed that when the sky collapsed, the gods were given the task of raising it up again. They did so by placing divine trees in each corner of the sky and placing a Ceiba tree in the center as the main axis of the cosmos. According to these ancient Mayans, the amount of leaves produced in spring and summer predicted the fertility of the crops.

This was on one of Vidanta Riviera Maya's wooden walkways.