image of Alvaro Ugalde climbing hill

In Others’ Words

Jay Hone & Neill Heath

May 19, 2015

We have known Alvaro for over 30 years. Neill Heath, my partner, met him when he was at the World Wildlife Fund when Alvaro and Mario Boza came to Washington, DC in 1983 to accept the Getty Prize awarded by President Reagan at the White House.

http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1983/72583a.htm

We kept our friendship up when he returned to Costa Rica. When Neill took a Smithsonian tour group to Costa Rica a few years later, Alvaro spoke to the group about the national park system. His talk that evening was groundbreaking, literally. A huge earthquake shook the country just an hour before Alvaro spoke. Nonetheless, he arrived on time and wowed the crowd.

We would later see Alvaro either in Costa Rica when we travelled there on vacation or in Washington, DC where Alvaro came to tirelessly promote conservation in his native country.

Neill remembers one time when we were at Nectandra about eight years ago and he asked him what he planned to do when he got too old to keep up his pace on behalf of the parks. Alvaro said at that point he'd probably sit in a rocking chair on the porch at Nectandra and loudly announce to one and all,

How are the parks? Are the parks safe?

Neill Heath & Jay Hone
Washington, DC
image of Alvaro

Alvaro in Golfito (2005)

image of Alvaro, and Jay Hone

Alvaro, Jay Hone (2005)

image of Alvaro

Alvaro, Neill Heath (2005)

image of Alvaro

J Hone, A Jarquin, E Lennette, Alvaro, N Heath (2005)

image of Alvaro

Luis Villa, Alvaro, Manrique Esquivel (2009)

image of Alvaro

Alvaro, N Heath in San Jose (2009)

image of Alvaro

Alvaro shaving (2009)

image of Alvaro
image of Alvaro
image of Alvaro

Alvaro and Arturo posing with their heads sticking through Gunnera leaf (Poor man’s umbrella) at Nectandra Cloud Forest Garden (2005)

image of Alvaro
image of Alvaro