BajaNomad - Sad news from BoLA

Sad news from BoLA

larryC - 3-28-2016 at 04:36 PM

Antonio Resendez had a heart attack today at 1pm and died. The town is shocked. He will be missed greatly. I knew him well and I will miss him.

woody with a view - 3-28-2016 at 04:57 PM

DEP :saint:

TMW - 3-28-2016 at 07:38 PM

Tell us a little about him. I did not know him.

bkbend - 3-28-2016 at 07:53 PM

Sad indeed. I said hi to him Saturday as I was walking by when he was having his morning coffee on the porch. He had Campo Archelon and was a big supporter of Graham M when he passed thru town on his adventures.

David K - 3-28-2016 at 09:43 PM

So sorry... he was well liked and will be missed.

Paulina - 3-28-2016 at 10:31 PM

Oh no, I'm so sorry to read this. My heart felt condolences to Betty and family. This is so sad. Antonio, rest in peace.

Paulina

Santiago - 3-29-2016 at 05:53 AM

Antonio was a marine biologist, getting his degree in Ensenada. He was instrumental in establishing the turtle research facility in BOLA. If you recall, a few years ago a loggerhead was captured off of Japan with a tracking device and it was one from his station. This helped solve the mystery of where the loggerheads went after laying their eggs on the beaches.
Google his name and you will see many articles regarding his work.

Whale-ista - 3-29-2016 at 07:17 AM

Very sad. He did important conservation work for sea turtles and other marine species.

When I first met him in 1995 he and his volunteers were rehabilitating sea turtles in his facility, and raising two pelican chicks that had been rescued after being abandoned on an island nearby. That was a big El Niño year and very few chicks were surviving due to lack of food.

He had been a student at CICESE in Ensenada, and earned his degree at UABC before setting up his work in BOLA. He had an inspiring passion and commitment to marine life.

I hope his work will continue despite his passing. DEP Antonio.

[Edited on 3-29-2016 by Whale-ista]

DianaT - 3-29-2016 at 07:47 AM

Sounds like he was a good man. Condolences to his family and friends. DEP.

Bajapete - 3-29-2016 at 08:03 AM

Very sad indeed. We were scheduled to have dinner with him this Thursday. Life is short amigos, enjoy EVERY day.

Martyman - 3-29-2016 at 09:13 AM

Antonio picked my friend and I up hitchhiking at the Bahia de LA turnoff on Hwy 1 in 1980. We stayed with him at the trailer park for a week or so . He taught us about turtles and we went out in his boat to several study sites around the bay.
He was an inspiration to me and was one of the reasons that I studied Biology/Natural History in college.

TMW - 3-29-2016 at 09:13 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Santiago

Antonio was a marine biologist, getting his degree in Ensenada. He was instrumental in establishing the turtle research facility in BOLA. If you recall, a few years ago a loggerhead was captured off of Japan with a tracking device and it was one from his station. This helped solve the mystery of where the loggerheads went after laying their eggs on the beaches.
Google his name and you will see many articles regarding his work.

Thanks, I would have liked to meet him. God speed Antonio.

desertcpl - 3-29-2016 at 10:55 AM

RIP

tripledigitken - 3-29-2016 at 11:12 AM

Someone I wish I'd known. Condolences to his friends and family.

stiladam - 3-29-2016 at 03:56 PM

Saddened to hear this....

My friends grandparents were caretakers for his sanctuary when he was out of town saving turtles from all over Mexico. We had the pleasure of meeting him and learning a lot about his cause in the 90s (when I was in my 20s) He really changed my perspective about these creatures and other wildlife.

I hope that someone with carry the torch and continue what he created with the same passion.

[Edited on 3-29-2016 by stiladam]

SFandH - 3-29-2016 at 04:12 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Santiago

If you recall, a few years ago a loggerhead was captured off of Japan with a tracking device and it was one from his station.

From Wikipedia:

"The turtles are transported by the prevailing currents across the full length of the northern Pacific, one of the longest migration routes of any marine animal.[20] The return journey to the natal beaches in Japan has been long suspected, although the trip would cross unproductive clear water with few feeding opportunities.[21] Evidence of a return journey came from an adult female loggerhead named Adelita, which in 1996, equipped with a satellite tracking device, made the 14500-km (9000-mi) trip from Mexico across the Pacific. Adelita was the first animal of any kind ever tracked across an ocean basin."

Amazing animal.

Condolences to friends and family of Antonio.

Marc - 3-29-2016 at 05:27 PM

i met him years ago. He showed me around the camp. Very nice guy.

peterbreslin - 3-29-2016 at 10:58 PM

Truly a force of nature and a spectacular host, enthusiastic, friendly and knowledgeable about the area and passionate about the history and beauty of Bahia de Los Angeles. He will be sadly missed.

BajaGringo - 3-30-2016 at 11:22 AM

I had the great honor to meet Tony awhile back via a mutual friend and we talked about our conservation work out here at San Martin Island. Tony expressed an interest in making a trip out to our camp at the island, perhaps later this year. Cristina and I were never able to follow up on his invitation to visit him and Bety at their home in Bahia de Los Angeles. A very stinging reminder of the perils of putting off plans for a day that may never come.

Here are some very touching words I shared from Tony's cousin, Pepe Morales Sánchez Hidalgo...

"It was with terrible regret I received the sad news of the death of an icon for all who had the honor - because it was an honor - to meet and know our great cousin Toño. A young rebel who left the nest early in life to travel far, as far as Ensenada, Baja California, which in those distant times seemed like another world, to pursue a career in those new and unknown decades. Toño greatly influenced the lives of his brothers and cousins for years; he was culturally, physically and mentally a step ahead, farsighted and with political vision.

He was an enemy of corrupt politicians, leaders, swindlers, priests and religions; ignorant and petulant, Toño lived in the most complete state of coexistence with nature, which he not only loved but protected at any cost, without any presumption or expectation of applause or recognition.

I remember family gatherings with his beloved parents, Uncle Toño and his beloved house in Coyoacan; there was my mother and my father, the latter who loved him as a son; My Aunt Bertha, my grandmother Enedina and Runfla. As his cousins and friends we loved hearing of his adventures and projects. It was much more than just a reading of Toño's letters; the letters were like the gospel according to San Antonio.

Today he is no longer on Mother Earth and I find it unexplainable, unusual and extremely upsetting. The good souls leave us and the world is left with trash like Donald Trump and other like garbage, littering the world with con artists.

His wife Bety, his children Toñito and Ale; and his brother and sister - my brother and sister, Nena and Manolo, I send my loving embrace with my weak and failing attempt to find the words of comfort.

What I do know very well, is that I will never forget him and today he now forms part of the vital substance of the universe that continues to grow and push us to continue to reach to its almost infinite limits.

Rest in Peace Toño..."

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TalkBaja/permalink/127977108...

Super Tony.jpg - 197kB

[Edited on 3-30-2016 by BajaGringo]

rts551 - 3-30-2016 at 11:43 AM

What great words. A fitting tribute.

Graham - 3-31-2016 at 05:23 AM

Just arrived in England to hear the shocking and sad news. My deepest sympathy to his wife Bety and their son and daughter.

Visiting with Tony and sharing a glass of wine with him and Bety has been one of the great pleasures of my Baja travels.

Tony's energy and interests were incredible. His knowledge of science and the scientists who studied the region was phenomenal. He was also fascinated by and well-read in politics and history and he knew how to listen and discuss with great passion but also with tact, kindness and respect.

So much of his time was taken up with a desire to improve the lives of the residents of Bahia de los Angeles and to seek ways to protect and enhance its environment.

Baja and Bahia will not be the same. Adios amigo. RIP. Thank you for all your help and encouragement over the years. I will feel your energy and spirit every time I gaze at that awesome bay that you and Bety made your home.

IMG_3062a.jpg - 142kB

shari - 3-31-2016 at 05:01 PM

The planet has lost yet another legend..Antonio was bigger than life itself, so very brave and passionate about the natural world...he inspired so many people including me with his dare to challenge both the poachers the establishment to protect what is sacred.

He was just getting a new program off the ground with the bighorn sheep...a tireless warrior for justice. He was a kind and generous man with a loving family who are no doubt suffering his loss terribly. His passing has left a void that no one else could possibly fill...but he has left behind his legacy...a man so loved and respected by many including the animals. See you on the other side mi estimado!

CatCrazyJulie - 4-1-2016 at 11:17 AM

Thank you so much for sharing the words from Tony's cousin! They said it perfectly.

We feel so fortunate to have known Antonio over the past several years during our stays at Archelon, and his invitations to morning coffee on his patio, sharing opinions about world events, learning about the history and present of BOLA...and getting so buzzed on the airplane fuel that he called coffee that I practically needed medical treatment to come down:-).

He was such the picture of health and vitality that it was an absolute shock to hear that he had died suddenly. As many have said, a wake up call. My heart goes out to his wife and family.

The world is lucky that such as Antonio join us for the time that they do.

Antonio Resendiz

Dale Smith - 4-18-2016 at 02:31 PM

I met Antonio Resendiz on February 29, 2016, an anomaly of a day that only rolls around every four years.

All I knew about Antonio Resendiz I learned from my good friend Brion, who had volunteered at Antonio’s sea turtle research project in the early 1980s. I am the author of a series of ‘environmental fiction’ books for Young Adult readers. I had written about parrots, orangutans, the desert tortoise, and hoped to make the subject of my fourth book sea turtles. Brion told me about Antonio. My efforts to track him down on the internet failed, so I decided I’d just drive down to Bahia de Los Angeles and hope for the best. I had no idea if Antonio’s turtle project was still in operation. I had no idea if Antonio Resendiz still lived in Bahia de Los Angeles.

When I drove into Archelon Camp in my small van with my Scottish terrier Cooper riding shotgun, I saw two men talking on the porch of one of the rental casitas. One was dressed in off-road motorcycle gear. The other wore black jeans, a black t-shirt and flip flops. I rolled down the window and said, “I’m looking for Antonio Resendiz.” “You found him,” said the man in black.

I got out of the van and we shook hands. I explained I was there to learn about turtles and hoped to pick his brain on the subject. He told me he was retired, and that the turtle research center had been closed for 8 years, but he’d be glad to talk to me. He showed me where I could park my rig and invited me to his house for coffee the next morning.

“9:00?,” I suggested.

“No, that’s too late. 7:30 is better,” said Antonio.

That morning coffee began a ritual that repeated itself nearly every morning for the next month. Sometimes other people – guests at Camp Archelon, scientists that had kept in touch with Antonio over the years – joined us, other times it was just the two of us. Our conversation at first revolved around Antonio’s work with loggerhead turtles, which had spanned some thirty odd years. Antonio had become a celebrity in marine biology circles in the early 1990s when he released ‘Rosita’ a 200 kilo loggerhead he had kept in captivity for 8 years, on the Pacific side of the Baja peninsula. A year and a half later Rosita turned up, unfortunately deceased, in a fisherman’s net off the coast of Japan, over 1,600 miles away. This proved conclusively that loggerheads returned to the beach where their lives had begun after a feeding in the food-rich pelagic waters off the Baja peninsula for 30 to 50 years! Until Antonio’s discovery, scientists suspected the loggerheads laid their eggs on some unknown beach on the eastern Pacific coast. The reason that this mysterious beach was never found was because it did not exist.

Day by day my connection with Antonio deepened. One morning our talks turned to family. He loved his wife and lifelong partner Bety, also a marine biologist. He was very proud of his two children, 22-year-old Alejandra and 27-year-old Antonio, Jr. He brought out a photograph of Alejandra one morning and laid it on the glass table where we talked. There, protected behind glass, was a portrait of Antonio’s daughter Alejandra, a dark-eyed beautiful young woman with long dark hair. And on Alejandra’s lap sat a pug, Elvis-the-pug. This photograph stopped me in my tracks. I reached for my iPad and pulled up a photograph of my own daughter, Alice: the same dark eyes and long dark hair with a pug on her lap, Henry-the-pug. What were the odds that Antonio and I would would have daughters of nearly the same age, so similar in appearance, and each with a pet pug?

As the days passed, I began to see Antonio not only as a gifted marine biologist, but as a facilitator. He had made many friends during his years studying turtles and maintained these friendships over the years. He delighted in introducing his ‘very good friends’ to one another. One morning Michael Soulé, who had studied lizards on Isla de La Guardia many years ago and was now writing a book about why human beings are so unkind to each other and so careless with the environment, joined us for coffee. Another morning, Pepe, an expert on seaweed, joined the discussion at the round table on Antonio’s patio. I also began to recognize the important role Antonio played in supporting the local economy in Bahia de Los Angeles. A steady stream of contractors, electricians and other skilled workers stopped by on a daily basis. Antonio often had projects for them. If campers wanted to go fishing, or venture out into the bay to observe whales and sea lions, Antonio would introduce them to Marcito and Angel, two twenty-something fishermen who lived directly behind Antonio. Antonio showed the local fishermen that they could make more money introducing tourists to the natural wonders of Bahia de Los Angeles than poaching turtles.

Nearly every morning Antonio would load me up with books about turtles and the ecology of the Baja peninsula to read. Favorite passages were highlighted in yellow. Antonio liked physical books, as opposed to digital books, because he could underline passages he found particularly interesting, or that he wanted to return to later. Walking back to my RV after breakfast weighed down with books under my arm, I felt as if I was a college student again. To even things out, Antonio read each of my three YA novels about endangered species, and we would discuss the themes of these books over coffee. Our shared views about conservation and the need to get young people involved in conserving natural resources served to deepen our relationship.

When Antonio learned that I had a PowerPoint presentation based on my orangutan research in Borneo, he arranged for me to make the presentation to the middle school kids in Bahia de Los Angeles. At first it didn’t look like the show would happen. Not anticipating that I would be giving a presentation during my travels, I failed to bring along the necessary cable. Instead of giving up, Antonio and Victor, the school’s principal, drove into town and returned half an hour later with an Apple cable that would work with the school’s projector. Like the coincidence pug sisters, what were the chances that someone in a small Mexican village with a population of 700, would have the proper cable that would allow me to make my presentation to 40 middle school students on the big screen? But that’s how it was with Antonio. He carried a lot of serendipitous magic stuffed into the pockets of his jeans.

Antonio Resendiz was an amazing human being. He will be missed.

--Dale Smith

shari - 4-19-2016 at 07:38 AM

thank you so much Dale for sharing your Antonio story with us....I wept with sadness that these meaningful encounters will no longer delight us...but reminded me how very fortunate we were to have been touched by this angel.

I had met Antonio through my work with the Biosphere Reserve and camped and coffee'd with him on several occasions as Dale mentioned having intriguing conversations with him on a wide range of subjects.

Once an environmental pilot friend of mine came rushing over to my camp and asked if I could come with her to do a Brown Pelican survey as the person supposed to do the count was sick. I jumped at the chance but had my young daughter with me at the time. Antonio and Betty stepped up to the plate in a heartbeat and said they would look after Sirena.

I thought it was just for a few hours and it wasnt until we were in the air later in the day when we were over on the mainland side that I realized it was too late to go back to BOLA. The pilot laughed and said she must have forgot to mention that it was a 3 day census of the whole coast!!! Oh my gosh...my daughter!!!! Antonio & Betty had no problem adopting her for those days and were accustomed to these kind of things happening...only in Baja right! My daughter was in good hands but I sure wish I had brought a change of underwear!

She became good friends with the family over those days!

I am sure Antonio is needed elsewhere in the universe to spread his love and energy and I sure hope to meet up with him again to discuss how and why many of the wise ones left this plane so early.

dravnx - 4-22-2016 at 12:44 PM

I will forever remember the warmth and vitality that Antonio had for everyone and everything he did. Our yearly visits to BOLA will never be the same. I am truly saddened. His and Baty's NYE dinners were an important part of our vacation for many years.

He was a great problem solver and would strive to make sure everyone in camp was comfortable and happy.

BajaBlanca - 4-22-2016 at 01:21 PM

RIP Antonio. Sure wish I had met this amazing visionary who is now united with the loggerhead he tagged.

Alm - 4-24-2016 at 11:23 AM

Some bad carma on this camp. 2 days earlier their live-in caretaker Marcos died from diabetes. Tony was one of the friendliest people I've ever met. His children are studying away, he was supporting them selling the camp piece by piece.

So now womenfolk have to carry on, Betty and Marco's widow - Gloria if memory doesn't fail me. Is there any way to contact either Betty or anybody who lives on the camp - "aviator" Paul, or "biker" Alan?

woody with a view - 4-25-2016 at 02:42 PM

Marcos with the son Marcos at archelon?

larryC - 4-25-2016 at 03:55 PM

Quote: Originally posted by woody with a view

Marcos with the son Marcos at archelon?

Yes

woody with a view - 4-25-2016 at 03:56 PM

Damn shame.

larryC - 4-25-2016 at 03:57 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Alm

Some bad carma on this camp. 2 days earlier their live-in caretaker Marcos died from diabetes. Tony was one of the friendliest people I've ever met. His children are studying away, he was supporting them selling the camp piece by piece.

So now womenfolk have to carry on, Betty and Marco's widow - Gloria if memory doesn't fail me. Is there any way to contact either Betty or anybody who lives on the camp - "aviator" Paul, or "biker" Alan?

If you mean Paul Sicotte, he has email at the camp.

Alm - 4-25-2016 at 06:51 PM

Quote: Originally posted by larryC

If you mean Paul Sicotte, he has email at the camp.

Probably. The one with hangar 51

, I don't have his email. Have Antonio's at yahoo.com though don't know if Betty is using the same.

[Edited on 4-26-2016 by Alm]

larryC - 4-26-2016 at 08:54 AM

Yes Paul built the hangar. Antonio's email is still monitored by the family.

gringorio - 4-26-2016 at 09:23 PM

Just saw this... I'm so sad. I first Met Antonio in 1998 when I worked with a sea turtle PhD student at Campo Archelon. Antonio was always eager to talk and share his knowledge and friendship. He was the one who taught me how to run the sea water pump to clean the turtle tanks (when they were still in use). I had coffee with him and Bety a year ago March. He seemed fit as ever.

He made the world a better place. I hope Bety and their kids are doing as best they can with the terrible loss.