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Graham
Senior Nomad
Posts: 558
Registered: 6-16-2006
Location: San Diego and DeTour, MI
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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.
 
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shari
Select Nomad
Posts: 13034
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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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!
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CatCrazyJulie
Junior Nomad
Posts: 57
Registered: 10-7-2006
Location: Morro Bay, CA
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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.
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Dale Smith
Newbie
Posts: 1
Registered: 4-18-2016
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Antonio Resendiz
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
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shari
Select Nomad
Posts: 13034
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
Member Is Offline
Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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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.
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dravnx
Nomad
Posts: 106
Registered: 10-27-2005
Location: N. Cal.
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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.
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BajaBlanca
Select Nomad
Posts: 13166
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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RIP Antonio. Sure wish I had met this amazing visionary who is now united with the loggerhead he tagged.
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2716
Registered: 5-10-2011
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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?
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15938
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
Member Is Offline
Mood: Everchangin'
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Marcos with the son Marcos at archelon?
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larryC
Super Nomad
Posts: 1482
Registered: 8-11-2008
Location: BoLA
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Yes
Off grid, 12-190 watt evergreen solar panels on solar trackers, 2-3648 stacked Outback inverters, 610ah LiFePo4 48v battery bank, FM 60 and MX60
Outback charge controllers, X-240 Outback transformer for 240v from inverters, 6500 watt Kubota diesel generator.
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15938
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
Member Is Offline
Mood: Everchangin'
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Damn shame.
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larryC
Super Nomad
Posts: 1482
Registered: 8-11-2008
Location: BoLA
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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.
Off grid, 12-190 watt evergreen solar panels on solar trackers, 2-3648 stacked Outback inverters, 610ah LiFePo4 48v battery bank, FM 60 and MX60
Outback charge controllers, X-240 Outback transformer for 240v from inverters, 6500 watt Kubota diesel generator.
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2716
Registered: 5-10-2011
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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]
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larryC
Super Nomad
Posts: 1482
Registered: 8-11-2008
Location: BoLA
Member Is Offline
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Yes Paul built the hangar. Antonio's email is still monitored by the family.
Off grid, 12-190 watt evergreen solar panels on solar trackers, 2-3648 stacked Outback inverters, 610ah LiFePo4 48v battery bank, FM 60 and MX60
Outback charge controllers, X-240 Outback transformer for 240v from inverters, 6500 watt Kubota diesel generator.
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gringorio
Senior Nomad
Posts: 812
Registered: 4-10-2004
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Member Is Offline
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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.
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