Max was born in the town of Ciudad Quesada in the north eastern lowlands of Costa Rica. His father worked the telegraph and radio at the local mail office. His mother was what in Costa Rica is known as an “ama de casa” and looked after the home. Max has two sisters.
Max wanted to be an airplane pilot until he discovered the rainforest. He spent his time wandering in the forests close to home which are now part of the Juan Castro Blanco National Park. He says that he would take off without knowing where he was headed and follow mother nature’s lead. School vacations were spent on family farms in northern Costa Rica where Max explored the tropical dry forest and also experienced how cutting down the forest to make pastures, trails and farms depleted the soil and the habitat.
During high school he became even more interested in Biology and he picked up the French Horn, his days were filled with science and music. While going to school Max started working as a fishing guide on Lake Arenal, the most prized catch at that time was the Rainbow Bass. He also took guests fishing in Caño Negro and the San Juan River our northern border with Nicaragua. It was while on one of these fishing trips that he first saw the Bare Throated Tiger Heron, he was so intrigued by the bird that he asked his boss to find a book about birds and as a result he began to take guests into the forest to observe nature and learn about the wildlife. His guiding career began at the age of 18, 27 years later he’s still going strong.
Max has a degree in Natural Resources Management from the UNED (Costa Rica’s National University by Correspondence). He has a list longer than your arm of courses and workshops on forests, wildlife and guiding technique. He even worked in Brazil where he helped the government of the state of Tocantins create State Parks and to orient a budding interest in eco-tourism.
When he’s not guiding, Max enjoys bird watching on his own and mountain biking. He spends as much time a possible with his grown children, Danna, Dylan, Josue and Monse.
