Spain: An Extraterrestrial Highway in the Sierra de Madrid

An unusual initiative is taking place in the Sierra de Madrid: a replica Nevada’s “Extraterrestrial Highway” is being created as a homage to the opening of the motion picture “Paul” – the adventures of a rogue extraterrestrial on the run from the U.S government, aided and abetted by two saucer buffs. Bearing the name “Ruta Extraterrestre Area Norte”, this undertaking has not been found at all unusual by some – journalist David Benito among them.

According to this reporter, this mountainous area north of the Spanish capital boasts a proud UFO history of its own. He cites UFO and alien reports over the Pedrezuela and El Atazar reservoirs in the mid-‘70s, documented by researcher Manuel Salazar. One particular case involves a pharmacist from the town of Lozoyuela: a tall, odd-looking character with a foreign accent entered the drug store looking for “a syrup that would allow him to dive into the reservoir. According to Salazar, the strange being returned the following year with an identical companion, and made a similar request for a “diving syrup” (echoes of the “oxy-gum” from the old anime series Marine Boy?)

November 1978, however, marked the start of UFO activity in this area, with allegations of an underwater UFO base at the Pedrezuela Reservoir. A local broadcaster – Radio Intercontinental – organized an event to trawl the bottom of the reservoir, attracting thousands of onlookers. Nothing was found, according to David Benito, but strange phenomena plagued the event. “Compass needles went crazy,” he says.

(Special thanks to David Benito and Guillermo Gimenez)