Wednesday, May 06, 2026

Mexico: UFO Activity in the 1960s

  

Mexico: UFO Activity in the 1960s

By Scott Corrales ©2007, 2026

[From "Saucers in the Sixties - UFOs in Latin America and Spain]

The age of the great UFO-induced blackouts was about to begin during these troubled years. As a foretaste, perhaps, of what would happen later on across the northeastern U.S., the city of Cuernavaca, some fifty miles south of Mexico City, would suffer three separate power failures on the night of September 23, 1965. The Ultima Hora newspaper indicated that the blackout had been caused by a large luminous flying saucer which crossed the heavens over the city--an inverted soup-bowl device which was seen not only by thousands of citizens but by city mayor Emilio Riva Palacios, who was attending the opening of a film festival with members of his cabinet. The lights went out during the showing, and upon going outside, the city fathers were treated to the sight of the massive object's glow, which reportedly filled all of Cuernavaca valley.

 But the force behind all these aerial phenomena appeared to be enamored of la capital, Mexico City, with its juxtaposition of massive colonial structures, modern skyscrapers and ancient ruins: it chose the 16th of September, the one hundred fifty-fifth anniversary of Mexico's independence from Spain, to manifest half a dozen luminous objects over the city's skies, casting downtown Mexico City into unbreakable gridlock as drivers left their vehicles to take a better look at the phenomenon. Newspapers reported that aviation authorities had received in excess of five thousand telephone calls from people asking if they had also seen platillos voladores.  On September 25, a citizenry weary of craning their necks skyward endured another leisurely display of the unknown as a vast luminous body passed overhead, remaining motionless for a while before shooting out of sight at a terrific speed. Only days later, two smaller objects would buzz the gilded dome of Mexico's Palacio de Bellas Artes, a turn of the century structure that dominates La Alameda park. A few dozen people waiting at a bus stop witnessed the early evening sighting; they described the objects as "enormous luminous bodies with intermittent sparkling lights."

By this point in time, some of the world's major newspapers had picked up on Mexico's saucer situation. Paris's Le Figaro reprinted an editorial from Italy's Corriere della Sera on the subject: "Mexico City International Airport has officially recorded, of late, some three thousand cases of mysterious apparitions described in detail. At nightfall, people gather on the terraces and balconies of their homes to search the skies...a clamor of voices can occasionally be heard, saying: "There goes one! Can you see it?" Invariably, what follows is this: traffic is paralyzed on neighboring streets, since drivers also want to partake of the spectacle. The roadways grind to a halt, leading to monstrous traffic jams. After a while, witnesses to the event are willing to swear that the presence of platillos voladores causes engines to stall and plunges homes into darkness. Throughout Mexico, the number of blackouts has been inexplicably high..."

 [At this point, the reader will allow me to insert a personal note. These mysterious blackouts continued well into the Seventies when I lived in Mexico City. My family's apartment overlooked busy Avenida Insurgentes--the artery that sections the city from north to south--and every room had a wall-to-wall, ceiling-to floor window offering an unlimited view of the avenue, the houses and buildings on the other side, and the mountains in the distance. It was not at all uncommon for the light to brown out and then black out completely, leaving people stuck in elevators and snarling traffic for hours at intersections. But the common denominator to all these blackouts, in my eight-year-old mind, was the bright yellow light that could be seen without fail crossing the sky in the horizon. Was it indeed a UFO? Who can say?]

 Spanish ufologist Antonio Ribera, who kept careful tabs on the Mexican scenario, indicates in his book América y los OVNIS (Posada, 1977) that foreign sources as unlikely as Kenya's Mombasa Times were carrying stories about the situation: On October 2, 1965, a fourteen year old girl in the city of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, ran away screaming in fright when a flying disk some twenty feet in diameter dropped out the heavens to hover directly over while issuing a soft, whistling sound. The object was surrounded by multicolored lights that appeared to dangle from it. After this daytime apparition, the object was seen over the same city again at night.

Tuesday, May 05, 2026

Costa Rica: 50 Years Ago, A Photo Changed a Cartographer's Life

 

Source: La Prensa Gráfica (Costa Rica)

Date: 13.11.2021

Article by Kimberly Herrera

 Costa Rica: 50 Years Ago, A Photo Changed a Cartographer's Life

 Half a century ago, a cartographer took a photo that remains captivating and intriguing in equal measure. In his estimation, contact with beings from space began during his childhood and have remained a constant throughout his 77 years.

 Sergio Loiza Vargas holds in his hand a black and white photocopy from a news item nearly four decades old. The headline is stunning: "UFO Allegedly Photographed in Costa Rica."

 The newspaper item, showing an arrow pointing at an unidentified flying object (UFO) was published on page 4C of the La Nación newspaper on Thursday, November 1st, 1979, causing a stir within the country and beyond.

 The image had certain distinctions, as it was not only a photo of an alleged alien spaceship, but it had also been taken from an airplane. As expected, the photograph became known worldwide and only a few days elapsed before it became a subject of study for many institutes and organizations. To date, the photo remains a matter of investigation and debate.

 Mrs. Sonia Chaves was no stranger to the much discussed news item of November 1st. As soon as she saw the photo, she took the page and sent it to her husband Sergio, who was working on an aerial photography project with an Italo-Venezuelan company in the desert region between Ecuador and Perú.

 When the news reached his hands, the Palmares resident wondered how the disclosure had reached the media, since the orders of the Interamerican Geodesic Institute years ago had been strict: "This is top secret information."

 It was Sergio Loiza who photographed that UFO over Lake Cote, in the Guatoso canton, eight years earlier. The image he took remains a source of curiosity among experts.

 "Discussion of the subject was forbidden, as it was taboo," admits Sergio, now age 77.

 Many were startled to see the craft in the photo. Others were frightened; Sergio's reaction was different: he felt thankful for having had the opportunity to capture the moment, as he professes having had several experiences with UFOs and with beings from outer space since the age of five.

 Today, at age 77, analyzing his frequent UFO sightings in a more leisurely manner, as well as other experiences he has had over the years, his question is nonetheless hard to answer: "Why me? Why did it happen to me?"

 Sitting comfortably at home in an armchair, facing the framed photo of the UFO on the wall, Sergio remembers that it all began 50 years ago, specifically on 4 September 1971. At that time, the then Costa Rican Electric Institute (Instituto Constarricente de Electricidad (ICE) asked the National Geographical Institute (Instituto Geográfico Nacional) to draft a map of Lake Arenal and its environs.


 At around 8:00 a.m., pilot Omar Arias, navigator Francisco Reyes and photographers Juan Bravo and Sergio Loiza, boarded the twin-engine Aerocommander 680F to kick off the aerial photography project. As a rule, Reyes, Bravo and Loiza took turns with the camera, and that day it was Sergio's turn to take the photos.

 "Doing this conventionally costs a lot of money and takes up a lot of time, and time was valuable then. The flight plan wasn't easy at the moment, and since we didn't have cellphones, we needed to have someone reporting on weather conditions. In fact, it wasn't until our thirteenth mission that we were able to find everything sufficiently clear to carry out the photograph survey," explains Sergio.

 To carry out the Lake Arenal mission, involving a flyover of San Carlos and Tilarán, they employed a professional quality German RMKA-15/23 camera weighing 100 pounds and set on the airplane's floor on a special reticulated structure, enabling to move the degrees.

 The cartographer and aerial photography expert explains that they were flying at 10,000 feet that day to achieve the 1:10,000 scale male with five meter contour lines as requested by ICE.

 Once the map was finalized, Loiza explains that the project was delivered to ICE and they continued their work. However, two or three years later, the agency sought the National Geographical Institute's aid again, since some of the data was incorrect, and a new study was required. "By sheer chance, it fell to me to carry out the initial field work, which was photo interpretation to mark the points. When we were studying the photos during desk work, using some large tables to see which images we would need, one co-worker said jokingly: "Look, what the hell is this? It resembles a flying saucer."

 "Then we went to the lab, made an enlargement, and took it to the Geographical Institute's director. He immediately phoned the head engineer of the Geodesic Institute, which was the sister agency paralleling the project. He told us right then and there - in the office - that we couldn't tell anyone about the photo.

 "In those days, such things were respected, mainly because we had an upbringing different from that of the Costa Rican common denominator. We were taught respect at the Geographical Institute, perhaps due to the military quotient and the influence of the U.S. Army, which provided airplanes, helicopters, vehicles and even the funds, because these were very costly projects," he added.

 They did not notice the UFO initially, as they had taken a flight route that was ultimately discarded from the project. It was precisely this discarded one which showed the flying saucer.

 The Institute managed to keep the photo a secret for nearly a decade. However, it was the brothers Ricardo and Carlos Vilchez, representatives of the Scientific and Exobiological Investigation Institute (ICI-CE) who found the photograph - which originally measured 23 x 23 cm - and disseminated it.

 How did they find it? Sergio does not know.

 What he does know is that the black and white image, taken at 8:15 a.m. on 4 September 1971, is still considered by international UFO institutions as one of the best photographs ever taken of a UFO.

 After many years of working in and out of the country as a cartographer specializing in aerial photography and photo interpretation, Sergio now spends his days at home, in Palmares de Alajuela, where he keeps photographs and news items that have been published over the years about the UFO over Lake Cote, and there have been many.

 There are also several framed works, one of them showing the iconic 1971 photo, gifted to him by his daughter Alejandra; beside it hangs a nocturnal landscape that also shows a UFO. "It's a photo that never loses it currency. I often get phone calls. Sometimes they write, but it's interesting because there are as many people in favor of the subject as there are against, although this is winding down. UFOs are accepted as a reality and several governments have done so as well," states Loiza.

 He further explains that for many years, he has received letters or phone calls from countries such as Mexico, Colombia and Perú requesting information on the subject. He has also been able to visit Brazil, Ecuador and Switzerland to visit with people interested in the UFO phenomenon.

 Over the years, Sergio has become a specialist in the UFO phenomenon - not because he reads much about the subject, because he says that his experiences have enabled him to know more than what is found in news items, books and movies.

 In fact, his passion for the UFO phenomenon emerged before he realized that he had photographed one during that mission over Lake Cote.

 It all began when he was five years old, resting with his father on a pasture belonging to their farm in San Carlos, learning about astronomy on starry nights. "I am grateful for these experiences, as they have changed my perspectives, my horizons and effected a 180 degree turn in my life. Even my own experiences, and what I have seen, changed my way of thinking, my way of perceiving things, and my inner self, completely.

 While he doesn't speak much of these experiences, preferring to keep them to himself and his family, Sergio remembers that he was 15 years old, around 1959, he saw a UFO approach him. A red-letter day in his life.

 "I had a major sighting of what they called a mothership. It was an enormous UFO that left me paralyzed I walked toward the device because it was perhaps some 50 meters distant, and I walked, because it didn't frighten me. The craft was beautifully, brilliant, but there came a time in which I did feel a disturbance, it left me paralyzed, and I also lost awareness for a while," he remembers.

 This, however, has not been his only experience. Sergio claims having seen the faces of the occupants of these craft in one instance. This encounter took place one evening near Cerro de la Muerte, when he saw another large luminous vehicle. "It was only a few meters away from me; I mean two or three meters. It was 11 p.m. and I was sitting on the car's hood, because it warm from the engine's heat. I got out of the car and sat three because I saw a sphere coming along the power lines, floating above the hedges. There were three creatures inside - a man, a woman and a child, beings standing approximately 1.8 meters, blue eyed, and I had them in front of me. These beings were Nordic, not Grey like the ones they show us. They're not like us either.

 "The man raised his hand (as in greeting). They were there for a few seconds and then left," he says.

 Nevertheless, this is not an isolated experience in his family. On one occasion, his parents told him that one night, driving in their Land Rover, they witnessed a craft over their vehicle that killed the engine and turned off the lights. "At this stage of my life I still wonder why me, because there are millions of people who have shared my experiences, but I'm from this tiny country," he observes.

 Sergio is not hesitant to share his experiences, being well aware of what he's lived through. However, he prefers not to go into detail, since there is always someone ready to discredit him.

 He takes solace in the satisfaction that Doña Sonia and her children—Sergio and Alejandra—as well as other people he has met who have witnessed similar things, understand and believe him.

 “I have had other types of experiences, but this world is very ungrateful; and although I have been told that I ought to share what I have lived through and my experiences, I am not sure if it is worth revealing certain things.

 “At my age, it doesn’t bother me; however, there are indeed certain things that touch the soul, and it is saddening when people behave in that manner,” he asserts.

 In fact, the resident of Palmares believes that human beings are “light-years away” from understanding and accepting the existence of extraterrestrial life.

 “As human beings, I don’t think we are ready [for beings from another planet]; I believe we still have a long way to go, and perhaps that is the reason they do not manifest themselves on a massive scale. We have placed great importance on technological development, but in this realm, it has remained merely theoretical knowledge.”

 And although for the majority of human beings the subject remains a taboo, Don Sergio believes that the world’s major powers possess extensive information regarding the UFO phenomenon—information they keep hidden, just as happened with the photograph of the craft at Lake Cote.

 He even points out that there are those who “actually have dealings with them in the technological and scientific spheres,” yet do not dare to speak of it.

 “UFOs have been classified as ‘unidentified flying objects’—and in reality, that is what the international powers would have us believe—but they have them very well identified and fully documented. The truth is, they have led the world to believe that they are merely unidentified flying objects; yet, they are indeed extraterrestrial spacecraft visiting us from outer space,” he adds.

 Furthermore—contrary to popular belief— Sergio is convinced that these beings, whom he had the opportunity to see on more than one occasion, are benevolent. “I have had many experiences, and I can tell you quite clearly that I have never had a negative one. I believe that those who do have negative experiences do so, perhaps, because they are actually seeking them out,” he asserts.

 He adds: “We look for God where He does not dwell; God does not dwell in altars—He dwells in our fellow human beings: in the person standing right beside us, in the hungry child, and in every living creature.”

 Ever since that photograph taken on September 4, 1971, Don Sergio Loiza developed a special fondness for Lake Cote and visited it frequently. However, the pandemic—along with a few health setbacks—has prevented him from returning to the site in recent years. Nevertheless, he has not lost hope of going back to stroll once more through a place so rich in memories.

  [Translation (c) 2026 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to La Prensa Gráfica]

Saturday, May 02, 2026

Nicaragua: UFO Sightings That Caused Alarm


 

Source: La Prensa Domingo (Nicaragua)

Date: 24 August 2025

 Nicaragua: UFO Sightings That Caused Alarm

 Unidentified luminous objects fired up the imagination of the residents of the Nicaraguan communities, causing nervousness and alarm. Were they UFOs? Not exactly.

 If extraterrestrial life exists and has visited us, El Sauce appears to be one of its chosen destinations. Located some 117 km from Managua in the department of León, this municipality has been the locale of various 'sightings'

 On Friday, 18 December 2015, residents of the Los Limones No.2 community witnessed strange lights in the sky and figured that they were unidentified flying objects (UFOs).

 "I ran into a light that was over the standpipe (...) and did not move. It was static. A white light that gave off red flashes," said a witness to the official Channel 4.

 Shortly thereafter, in late February 2016, the events in El Sauce reached the Telemundo network's Al Rojo Vivo television program. According to this report, local residents were certain that the seismic activity in the area at the moment (attributable to the San Cristobal volcano) had attracted aliens.

 Videos taken by community residents showed round luminous objects crossing the skies. The phenomenon coincided with the alleged disappearance of a 4-year-old child, who vanished from the face of the earth only to reappear later some 10 kilometers distant, with no memory of the event.

 Another resident, who claimed having had extraterrestrial contact, explained that the visitors resembled "normal people, black or white" desirous of a world at peace and without wars.

 The aliens returned that very same December to El Sauce, allowing themselves to be seen by Hugo Sánchez Buitrago, who reported them to the Facebook social network. "The luminous phenomenon crossed the sky slowly from east to west, and to our astonishments, the light changed from an entirely metallic hue to red before vanishing," he explained.

 A sighting of glowing objects, by day or by night, is nothing new, but has become more frequent in modern times. Similar phenomena have been reported similar in various parts of the world, but the 'mystery' was confirmed when these turned out to be drones, satellites, rockets and even the ISS.

 In March and April 2020, an alleged recording went viral showing four dancing lights at daylight over Managua. The video's creator professed feeling nervous as he recorded the phenomenon from the yard of his own home. It proved to be a hoax. A special effects expert explained that knowledge of the After Effects software program would suffice to create "UFOs".

 16 years ago, Fabrice LeLous, current editor of Costa Rica's La Nacion, had a close encounter of the third kind while at the home of some relatives in Jugalpa, Chontales. He and a cousin witnessed a black, triangular flying object with lights at each of its corners. This event occurred on the evening of June 22 into the morning of Saturday, June 23rd. LeLous, a journalist of Diario LaPrensa, told his experience in a feature for La Nación. Shortly after he furnished details to Costa Rica's La Teja about what he saw in the skies of Juigalpa.

 "It was a black triangle with yellow, dim lights at its corners. Three lights. The object flew here and there at high speed, suddenly remaining still before retaking its course in a different direction, again, very quickly. The triangle plowed the skies noiselessly. The sight, which seemed magical at the moment, lasted some 20-30 seconds, but I remember that it seemed like hours," he noted.

 The object flew at high speed until it hovered all of a sudden of the heads of the young men, who ran away in fear. According to LeLous, and while there is no way of proving this, humanity shares the universe with other beings and there must be intelligent life on distant planets. The incident with the triangular object isn't a positive memory; however, he would like to experience something 'so rare, so unique' once more.

 A number of similar objects have been seen in other parts of the world, with lights on their vertexes. These have mostly been explained away as military aircraft (lawful or secret), atmospheric phenomena, optical illusions (suggesting a triangle) or drones.

 In November 2019, the Loon Google Project, designed to bring the internet to remote rural locations, frightened many in Nicaragua. Seen at a distance, the Google aerostats had the appearance of a giant jellyfish, clearly alien, but nothing of the sort. The project was shuttered in early 2021 after nine years in service, bringing connectivity to millions of users all over the planet. However, its profitability was questionable, and it did not find the investors needed to continue providing services.

 [Translation ©2026 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to La Prensa]

UFOs and The Interdimensional Hypothesis

The Courage to Face the Unknown:

UFOs and the Interdimensional Hypothesis

By Scott Corrales ©1998, 2026

Reprinted in honor of the declarations made by Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fl) concerning the interdimensional origin of the phenomenon, a fact acknowledged for decades

    In 1994, a number of European UFO researchers and authors met at the Santo Espíritu del Monte monastery in the Andalusian city of Valencia, Spain. Many of them couldn't help feeling like conspirators plotting the overthrow of an unreasonable political regime: they had gathered at this retreat for the purpose of furthering an alternative approach for the study of the UFO phenomenon. Admittedly, this was hardly innovative, but it was their intention to officialize their intention as a declaration, much in the same manner of those patriots who met in Philadelphia in 1776.

     The Project Delphos Manifesto, as it would come to be known, hoped to promote among its signatories the adherence to a single line of research aimed at proving that a considerable number of UFO sightings were of an interdimensional or paraphysical nature -- directly the opposite to the tenets of the ETH or Extraterrestrial Hypothesis.

     The initiative was spearheaded by French investigator Pierre Delaval, whose group, the Comission d'Etudes Ouranos, has long championed the belief that mankind has long been under the scrutiny of a non-human intelligence from another dimension or level of existence; Spain's Pedro Valverde and Ramón Navía, co-sponsors of the initiative, expressed the belief that "an extraplanetary force interferes in human affairs and with human minds, thwarting natural evolution since the beginning of time."

     Project Delphos intended to go farther than any other research initiative ever had before, setting for itself the almost impossible goal of discovering the manner in which non-human intelligences had  evolved on their respective dimensions and how it was possible for them to affect our own physical reality. In order to achieve this, a number of multiple fronts would have to be opened -- everything ranging from psychotronics to channeling -- in the hopes that "the invisible might be made visible," as stated by the organizers. But the use of these tried methods (albeit questionable) would not suffice for these purposes. It would be necessary to develop a new generation of technological devices capable of assisting in the detection of all manner of alterations (electromagnetic, thermal, etc.) which would assist in the physical detection of the phenomenon.

     Ramón Valverde summarized it thus: "an intelligence that needs a certain mental activity and a support-vehicle-body that isn't necessarily a dense physical structure [...] these intelligent creatures have taken advantage of our need to believe in something greater than ourselves, and our belief in a spiritual level, in order to usurp its functions. If we manage to understand their goals, it may be possible to avoid being manipulated by them."

 

The Ten Commandments of Project Delphos

1. The UFO phenomenon is partially or wholly alien to the problem of extraterrestrial life, to which it has been associated almost always.

2. Many manifestations of the UFO phenomenon enter the realm of the paraphysical, a level whose highly-subjective nature can elude conventional scientific analysis.

3. Large networks of researchers in both America and Europe have managed to gather enough information to prove that many of the phenomena classified as UFO belong to the realm of the paraphysical.

4. There is a sufficiently abundant case history of phenomena that can be classified today as UFOs, and which constitute a protohistory of the phenomenon within the framework of ancient mythologies and the origin of religions which have become institutionalized in the present.

5. These manifestations are merely one of the multiple facets of a plane of existence or hidden universe, alien to our material world, that is subject to the laws of space-time.

6. Their interference in human affairs must be inserted within the context of a real occult conspiracy, possibly aimed toward a new world order.

7. It can be concluded that the UFO phenomenon and other unexplained manifestations occur within the parameters of a vast plan of deception.

8. It can be concluded that this plot or conspiracy has interfered, and continues to interfere with, humanity's normal evolution and that of our psychic ability by means of trivializing the occult in a strategy essentially aimed at the young.

9. This course of action encompasses psychic manipulation, altered states of consciousness, personality modification, telepathic control, etc.

10. The continued presence of the UFO phenomenon and its interference throughout history is proof positive of an intention and a strategy at the command of a force. The line of action proposed by the members of Project Delphos seeks to counteract this subversive action, which takes place at both the physical and mental levels.

 

Interdimensionalism Examined

     For all its lofty goals, many observers of the UFO scene will remain unimpressed by Project Delphos, and will find fault with the items set forth in its manifesto, particularly the a priori judgements of the existence of a global occult conspiracy, the avowedly hostile aim of the phenomenon, etc. which have not been kindly viewed by U.S. researchers and are generally consigned to the vast pile of "crank" literature available on the subject.

     But the fact of the matter remains that this initiative by European researchers offers an organized counterweight to the mechanistic nuts-and-bolts alternatives which have come to prevail in ufological debates since the early 1980's. Nevertheless, pursuing such an effort is tantamount to performing a high-wire act, trying to maintain a balance between the status-quo ETH (extraterrestrial hypothesis) and the "UFOs as demons" view espoused by extremist religious groups.

     The first order of business is necessarily tackling the concept of "other dimensions" or "planes of existence" -- a relatively simple task for the science fiction author or fantasist, but a considerably harder job when trying to apply such concepts to the physical world.

     For purposes of this article, it will be assumed that the reader is aware of the properties of the first, second and third dimensions (the latter which is our own). A dimension can be defined as being the magnitude measured in one direction -- width, length or thickness -- employed to define a position in space. The oft-mentioned fourth dimension is a dimension of time as it applies to length, breadth and thickness in a space-time continuum.

     As illustrated charmingly in Edwin Abbott's Flatland, a tale of life a two dimensional universe, it is easy for us to imagine how a two dimensional world would look like and how its inhabitants would react to the incursion of a visitor from our own reality. Conversely, it is hard for us to imagine what the fifth, sixth, seventh or higher dimensions would look like, much less its inhabitants. The late Carl Sagan presented viewers of his Cosmos television program with a lucite representation of the fourth dimension known as a tesseract or hypercube, but even this falls far short of illustrating such a reality.

     The interdimensional theory of UFOs asks us to believe in the existence of creatures from these improbable points of origin. This seemingly unreasonable request is somewhat tempered by the global belief in another dimension or level of existence generally known as "heaven" and the less pleasant one known as "hell". Renowned researcher Dr. Greg Little has masterfully identified each of these places as the ultraviolet and infrared ends of the electromagnetic spectrum, respectively.

     Ufologist Salvador Freixedo prefers to speak of "planes" or level" since he admits being confused by the thought of dimensions. His layman explanation of the concept remains the most satisfying to the unspecialized reader: he envisions reality as a high-rise apartment building, with each level or dimension being a floor in the building. Occupants may share the structure, but ready access from one level to another is possible only through clearly defined communication paths (elevators, stairwells). It is only upon occasion that occupants of the different levels coincide with one another, such as when they are in the building's lobby or entrance. He argues that certain places on our world, which boast heavy paranormal activity, are precisely those points in common which we share with the denizens of other realities.

     Freixedo takes his argument one step further, stating that we could not possibly guess what the nature of the errands of these other dimensional creatures could be. He cleverly invokes the image of a squirrel running along a telephone wire, completely oblivious to its nature and the myriad phone calls it handles every day, the crews which monitor it, etc. The squirrel merely sees is as a convenient means of getting from one place to another. When human eyewitnesses see UFO occupants engaged in strange maneuvers, are we reduced to the role of the unsuspecting squirrel?

     Perhaps nothing can sum up this situation as the following quote from another Spanish paranormalist, Juan G. Atienza: " The UFO laughs at all of this, as we would laugh if we could see the desperate two-dimensional figures on the surface of a piece of paper. The UFO heals the sick, creates messiahs, brings messages of peace, removes the contents of skulls, sneers at supersonic aircraft and carries in its belly an entire zoo of beings ranging from Apolloesque, Hyperborean angels dreamed up by a devotee of Aryan philosophies to the elemental chimeras of childrens' tales and hagiographical accounts involving small demons with horns and even spiked tails. Technology? How absurd!"

 

     Greetings from Another Dimension

     While the stage of the modern UFO era was set by clearly physical events, such as the Kenneth Arnold sighting and the putative Roswell Crash, subsequent sightings and encounters would indicate that the phenomenon might not be as substantial as it originally seemed. Ufologist Allan Hendry concurred with this position when he enumerated the "alternate mechanisms to the ETH in the realm of the paranormal" ("The UFO Message-Part II", Saga UFO Report, Feb.1980). These events included UFOs and their occupants having the ability to disappear, more akin to ghosts than solid vehicles; reports of transparent, ghostly humanoids; instances of telepathic communication with UFO occupants; psychic experiences arising from UFO sightings or contact with occupants; instances of levitation by UFO occupants and/or their instruments; the ability of UFO occupants to walk through solid matter, and the sudden physical paralysis experienced by UFO witnesses in certain cases. We shall strive to provide a few examples of these in the following paragraphs.

     In his book Situation Red - The UFO Siege, the late Len Stringfield included a case of a morphing UFO which remains a classic: on September 3, 1975, in Tujunga, California, a couple known as the Cromwells heard a helicopter flying overhead. Mrs. Cromwell took this as a warning that a brush fire had erupted in the area and remained watchful of the developments.

     Both she and her sister-in-law managed to see the helicopter in question and notice that a bright, circular object appeared to hover over its rotors. Using binoculars, the women were able to distinguish a "light pattern" whose colors were bluish-green at the top and bright red at the bottom. To compound the strangeness of the situation, the object remained motionless in the sky while the helicopter maneuvered below. The object then proceeded to change shapes, from circular to diamond, to chevron and then into a classic "flying saucer" configuration. As it departed, the helicopter followed.

     The questions which arise here are obvious: was the helicopter a military aircraft intercepting the UFO? Was it a projection of the UFO, or was it also a cleverly concealed UFO? All three hypotheses have been considered in a number of books and magazine articles, and while we may think along the lines of the clever "cloaking devices" which have become part and parcel of science fiction movies, questions about the solidity of these devices still remain.

     Much the same happened in a Swedish case from 1959 told by Anders Liljegren in the UFO-Sweden Newsletter.Gideon Johansson ran out into the night to see if he could ascertain the reason an area-wide power failure in Mariannelund. He witnessed a glowing object making a slow descent through the trees and coming within a few feet of the ground. The startled onlooker was able to see that it was a craft of some sort, having a high transparent dome which revealed the presence of two occupants "with high-crowned heads and big, beautiful eyes."  Tge occupants appeared to engage in what Johannson took to be repairs and the object soon disappeared "like a ghost in the night".

     Some of these putative vehicles from an intelligent civilization on another planet have a propensity for exhibiting behavior best associated with poltergeist phenomena. Researcher Peter Guttilla mentions the case of one Grace Groswalther of Salyer, CA, who witnessed a "glowing hat-shaped UFO" fly silently over the treetops before losing itself in the direction of another nearby town. According to Groswalther, the effects of the flyover manifested themselves as houselights switching on and off, dead telephone lines, and violent, incessant pounding sounds against her home's walls and roof. Phenomena of this type are often encountered by parapsychologists.

     In October 1973, a number of Native American fishermen belonging to Canada's Quamichan tribe on Vancouver Island were witnesses to a strange object a few hundred feet away from their position. According to testimony appearing in the Canadian UFO Report, the object had three red lights rotating on its upper "deck" and intermittent lights moving counterclockwise on its lower surface. A white beam of light, resembling a searchlight, moved up and down the surface of the Cowichan River, terrifying the onlookers.

     But what truly astounded the Quamichan fishermen was the fact that the discoidal object changed shape into that of an airplane, making the characteristic engine sounds of an aircraft. It flew over the witnesses vanished beyond the treeline.

 

     The Mind-Benders

     While morphing UFOs may lead us to question the solidity of the entire phenomenon and its interplanetary nature (disregarding Arthur C. Clarke's Third Law which states that the technology of any sufficiently advanced will be indistinguishable from magic), the occupants which often emerge from these vehicles hardly resemble what human logic would consider to be teams explorers from another planet.

     In 1975, during a particularly heavy period of UFO activity in Puerto Rico, Orlando Franceschi, an ambulance driver for a Catholic hospital in the city of Ponce had returned home after 8 p.m. on the evening of April 17 when he realized that "something" was roaming around his back yard. Whatever it was, it caused Franceschi's dog to jump into the air in a furious attempt at jumping over the fence and away from the patio. Thinking that some children may be playing a prank on him, Franceschi went outside to take a closer look, arming himself with a shovel. The curious homeowner was soon faced by a creature he would later describe as a "zombie." The entity allegedly had long, pointed ears, a long nose, lipless mouth and appeared to have grayish, ashen skin. It had black spots for eyes, and a jawline reminiscent of an ape's. It ambled toward the human with a jerky, stiff gait.

     Taking no chances whatsoever, Franceschi struck the five foot tall intruder with the shovel. The creature suffered no ill effects from what Franceschi himself considered to have been a terrific blow. It merely backed off, allowing the human to strike it a second time with the garden tool, also without visible effect. When the ambulance driver was about to deliver a third shovel-blow, he felt himself becoming paralyzed and helpless. The zombie-like creature disappeared before his eyes.

     This high-strangeness case might cause proponents of the ETH to cry foul, since there was no UFO present during the event. However, its importance lies in showing that whatever the creature was, it was solid enough to resist two blows from a gardening implement and insubstantial enough to disappear before the eyes of its assailant. The following case is almost similar, but throws in a UFO.

     On June 4, 1972, a group of young men and women visited Wallacia, in Australia's New South Wales, for a lakeside picnic. At around 6 p.m., when they decided to reenter their vehicle to depart, they found themselves looking at a surprising object, resembling two saucers joined at their edges and with three landing struts, in a stationary position not far from their automobile. The craft pulsated with glowing lights.

     Panic seized the four men and two women in the group: some experienced piercing headaches and others heard an increasingly loud hum coming from the object. To worsen the situation, their car's engine erupted in flames, causing them to flee from the scene. But as the frightened picnickers tried to run for safety, they found themselves confronting a large, indistinct figure heading toward them: it had broad shoulders and arms ending in pointed "hands". In a last desperate effort, the humans concealed themselves in the grass as the creature glided past them, vanishing into thin air when it reached their stricken automobile.

     Since the late 1980's, researchers into UFO abduction experiences have been challenged by the increase in reports of tall reptilian creatures known by a variety of names such as Reptoids, Dracos or Alligator Men. This order of beings differs from the ubiquitous Greys and more elusive Nordics (the former impersonal and aloof, the latter greatly concerned with abductee welfare) in their outright hostility and highly sexual nature. Certain researchers have tried to establish links between these entities and those which have traditionally contacted by means of black magic in many cultures. Reptoids have been characterized as masters of illusion and disguise, passing themselves off as Nordics, Greys or even human beings, before reverting to their true form. Investigator Eve Francis Lorgen has expressed her belief that such creatures are interdimensional rather than extraplanetary, and further adds that many of the abductees she has dealt with believe that certain Reptoids --clad in black hooded robes or capes--are indeed the hidden controllers behind the abduction phenomenon. This belief has been echoed by other students of the phenomenon who have gone as far as to claim that human evolution has been directed by the Reptoids.

     The exploits of these unknown quantities transcends national borders. Mexican ufologist and author Luis Ramírez Reyes, who has had his share of unusual experiences, discusses a case brought to his attention in the early '90's by a colleague who visited the town of Tepoztlán (now a prominent New Age destination) and heard the following story: an elderly woman, Concepción Navarrete, had lost her teenage son to reptilian creatures who traditionally haunt Tepozteco Hill, a forested summit crowned by a small pyramid.

     Mrs. Navarrete's son enjoyed running up to the top of the hill since his earliest childhood, particularly when the presence of strange nocturnal lights caused blackouts in Tepoztlan. He finally vanished altogether one day, never to be seen again, and his mother was certain that his disappearance was related to the presence of the strange lights. One morning, she noticed a "very strange being" standing not far from her modest home. It had its back to her, and gave the impression of being "a giant iguana", standing erect and over six feet tall, with green scaly skin.

     The reptilian creature made a sudden about face, presenting an entirely different appearance. "He resembled a blond, friendly American" explained Navarrete, who was terrified out of her wits. The shapeshifting Reptoid told her not to be afraid; no harm would come to her and that her son was safe and well-cared for. Navarrete turned to a passing man to cry for help, and when she turned back to look at the shapeshifter, it had disappeared. 

     Noted ufologist Linda Moulton Howe has gathered information on the interdimensional nature of a possible conflict between these non-human factions. Several of her sources indicate that the hostilities between the Greys and the Nordics have led the latter to seek refuge in "other dimensions inaccessible to the Greys." In a 1989 article appearing in UFO Universe,  Dr. Jean Mundy best summarizes the interdimensional nature of these entities: "Some of the many creatures that inhabit the universe are native to the physical dimensions we are familiar with...Other creatures inhabit paraphysical realms, usually alluded to as "etheric". These realms consist of physical matter, but in forms that are less dense, more malleable, and more durable than matter in the chemical universe...These interpenetrating universes have been recognized for millennia world-wide by the esoteric traditions of every major religion and school of thought."

 

     Conclusion

     Veteran UFO researcher and author Jacques Vallée suggested the possibility that the UFO phenomenon could have an earthly nature without being related to any human agency, or even extraplanetary without involving the need for any conveyances. This seemingly contradictory notion can be explained through developments in physics which account for the elusive "dimensions" which are the occultist's stock in trade. Vallée cites the work of scientists such as Michio Taku and Jennifer Trainer, who manifest the need that traditional physics requires the existence of five dimensions in order to account for the Big Bang theory. Theoretical physics believes that our universe originally had ten dimensions, six of which collapsed or "curled up", leaving us with the four dimensional one in which we exist. In his book Alien Agenda, author Jim Marrs quotes as statement made by a leading physicist: a number of investigators claim to have found evidence of the existence of what they have come to term the "top quark", providing a model for a ten-dimensional universe in which time travel into the remote past is a possibility and in which holes in very fabric of space enable travel to other parts of the universe. According to the article, the seemingly immovable and eternal visible universe in which we all live may simply be one of many universes existing side by side "like so many soap bubbles in a cosmic froth." Can we even begin to guess at what kind of intelligent life may have developed in any of these parallel dimensions or other universes?

     While it is true that our notion of what bona fide interplanetary explorers should behave has been conditioned by the literary genre of science fiction, the entities involved with the UFO phenomenon hardly resemble the ambassadors of an advanced galactic society: their vehicles have radiation leaks that cause damage to their landing sites; the purpose of dentures, clocks or other items appears to elude them; they perform crude operations on terrified abductees with implements that do not match the capabilities that a society capable of crossing the voids of space should rightfully possess.

     Perhaps we would do well to heed the admonition--smacking of gallows' humor--offered by Arthur C. Clarke in his book Report on Planet Three and Other Speculations: it's not a flying saucer unless you can see the Mars license plate.

                            # # # #

Friday, May 01, 2026

Ecuador: UFO Startles Tourists in the Playas Canton


Source: Extra (Ecuador)
Date: 01.28.2026
An article by Ginno Zambrano


Ecuador: UFO Startles Tourists in the Playas Canton


A sudden and unusual silence gripped Puerto Engabao, a location in the canton of Playas, in the early hours of August 16, 2025. The relentless sound of the wind and the waves vanished entirely, giving way to an eerie atmosphere.

According to Cata Liveano, this silence marked the beginning what marked the start of the most impactful experience of her life: the sighting of unidentified flying objects (UFOs)

An Inexplicable Silence Overcomes Puerto Engabao


That morning, Cata visited that location with four friends to camp on the beach, considered a 'hotspot' for extraterrestrial phenomena.

The group did not reach the site by chance. They all shared an interest in securing evidence on the existence of life beyond Earth, whether by the observation of craft or by direct contact.

A Yoga and Campfire Session


At around 1900 hours that evening, they held a yoga session and around 2100; they gathered around a campfire to discuss the reasons that led them to investigate phenomena of this nature. The skies were clear until 2300, showing no signs of anything unusual.

It was at that time that Cata withdrew into her tent to rest. Up to that moment, she thought she would return to Guayaquil, her place of residence, with little more than a good tan.

However, at around 0500 hours, still awake, she perceived an abrupt change in the atmosphere. "It was warm already, but suddenly became much warmer, as if a heater had been activated. Furthermore, everything became silent," she said.

Luminous Craft in the Sky


Intrigued, she decided to emerge from the tent. Upon doing so, the heat diminished and the customary sounds returned. But upon raising her eyes to the cloudy skies, she observed six oval-shaped luminous objects that appeared among the clouds.

"They formed a giant symmetrical circle in the clouds and descended from there," she noted, describing the objects as shiny grey, projecting yellow and white lights.

Irregular Movements and Absolute Silence

Her companions also emerged from their tents upon noticing the change in the surroundings. No one spoke. They remained watchful as the objects moved silently, making irregular, noiseless movements.

Cata pointed out that the most striking feature was the absence of fear. "I knew this was abnormal, but I felt calm, at no point was I upset."

The UFOs vanished suddenly at sunrise. "They were gone in a blink,' she said. Minutes later, the surroundings returned to normal and Puerto Engabao recovered its customary appearance. However, this experience marked a before and after in her life.

[Translation (c) 2026, S.Corrales, IHU with thanks to Extra]

Thursday, April 30, 2026

Cryptozoology: The First Documented Case?

 



Cryptozoology: The First Documented Case?

By Javier Resines (Spain)

 Any discipline worth its salt has a more or less well defined point of departure, based upon a specific event or the presence of a given researcher or any other reason. This situation can be hard to pin down at times, as can be the case with cryptozoology, where there is no definite date that marks the start of this science. The first photo of Nessie, perhaps? Or the publication of the first book by Heuvelmans? Each individual probably has a starting point in his or her own head.

 It is not our intention to kick off a debate on the subject, which we find absurd. What we want to show is that if there has indeed been a starting point with regard to the study of unknown animals, it occurred in an earlier age. A cryptozoological prehistory, so to speak, in which spectacular cases involving strange animals occurred, even if there were no researchers to disseminate the phenomenon explicitly.

 And apropos of this, we have perhaps come across what may be the first documented cryptozoological case in the history of Spain. Our reporter of the age is none other than Roman author and scientist Gaius Plinius Cecilius Secundus (23-79 B.C.E.) better known as Pliny the Elder. His vast work Historia Naturalis, which collects all of the knowledge of his age with regard to zoology, botany and other sciences in 37 volumes, mentions the case of a “polyp” that killed off all the fish in the wells of Carteia, a city adjacent to modern San Roque, in Cadiz, where the salted meat and fish works of the time were housed.

 Pliny mentions an item found by another Roman naturalist from the previous century – Trebius Niger in the third volume of his Natural History, in which he writes:

 [...] for he affirmed, that at Carteia there was one of these Polypi, which used commonly to go forth of the sea, and enter into some of their open cesterns and vauts among their ponds and stewes; wherein they kept great sea-fishes, and otherwhiles would rob them of their salt-fish, and so go his waies againe: which hee practised so long, that in the end he gat himselfe the anger and displeasure of the masters and keepers of the said ponds and cesterns, with his continuall and immeasurable filching: wherupon they staked up the place and empalled it round about, to stop all passage thither. But this thiefe gave not over his accustomed haunt for all that, but made meanes by a certaine tree to clamber over and get to the fore-said salt-fish; and never could he be taken in the manner nor discovered, but that the dogges by their quicke sent found him out and bayed at him: for as he returned one night toward the sea, they assailed and set upon him on all sides, and thereiwth raised the foresaid keepers, who were affrighted at this so sodaine an alarme, but more at the straunge sight which they saw. For first and foremost this Polype fish was of an unmeasurable and incredible bignesse: and besides, hee was besmeared and beraied all over with the brine and pickle of the foresaid salt-fish, which made him both hideous to see to, and also to stinke withall most strongly. Who would ever have looked for a Polype there, or taken knowledge of him by such markes as these? Surely they thought no other, but that they had to deale and encounter with some monster: for with his terrible blowing and breathing that he kept, he drave away the dogges, and otherwhiles with the ends of his long stringed winding feet, he would lash and whip them; somtimes with his stronger clawes like arms he rapped and knocked them well and surely, as it were with clubs. In summe, he made such good shift for himselfe, that hardly and with much adoe they could kill him, albeit he received many a wound by trout-speares which they launced at him. Well, in the end his head was brought and shewed to Lucullus for a wonder, and as bigge it was a good round hogshead or barrell that would take and containe 15 Amphores: and his beards (for so Trebius tearmed his clawes and long-stringed feet) carried such a thicknes and bulke with them, that hardly a man could fathom one of them about with both his armes, such knockers they were, knobbed and knotted like clubs, and withall 30 foot long. The concavities within them, and hollow vessels like great basons, would hold four or five gallons apeece; and his teeth were answerable in proportion to the bignes of his bodie. The rest was saved for a wonder to be seen, and waighed 700 pound weight. (Translation of the 9th Book of Pliny by Philemon Holland, 1601)

 The description given to us by Roman chroniclers suggest that the animal could have been a giant squid more than any other species of Cephalopod. The large tentacles, supposedly in excess of nine meters long, and the monster’s morphological characteristics, appear to suggest this.

 Of what there can be no doubt whatsoever is the particular commotion caused by this event among spectators and citizens alike, who were later able to see this remains of this authentic predecessor of the mythic Kraken....

 [Translation (c) 2011 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Javier Resines]