UFOs of Costa Rica

With the recent flood of official US Air Force UFO videos & military testimony being released to the US Congress, and an ongoing flap of mysterious drone-like craft menacing neighborhoods across the globe, it is high time to look into a few of the more famous UFO encounters over Costa Rica. And since we are in the epoch of taking UFOs more seriously, let’s start to use the new, clean, baggage-free term that has recently been globally adopted – Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAP.

For such a small country, Costa Rica is home to many outstanding sightings – from bright daytime formations, to classical silver disks, to exotic manta-ray like craft, there is something very strange happening in the skies above our wonderful country!

THE 1971 LAKE COTE PHOTO

Costa Rica’s most famous UAP encounter took place in 1971 over Lake Cote, Costa Rica’s largest natural lake, an isolated water-filled crater just to the north of Lake Arenal. On September 4 1971 mapmaker Sergio Loaiza and his team were conducting a survey flight for the National Geographic Institute of Costa Rica – this flight was in support of the Presa Sangregado Dam construction, the very dam responsible for enlarging today’s Lake Arenal.  As the plane flew a pre-determined pattern at a height of 3,000 meters or about 10,000 feet, a 100-pound high-definition camera (for the time) automatically snapped photos every 13 seconds.

Something caught the eye of the crew – a strange disk-like object that appeared to be giving off a light. The disk seemed to be hovering just above the waters of the lake. As the camera snapped, the UAP immediately took off, never to be seen again. The craft only appeared in the single frame of the photo series.

Once the photos were developed, the extraordinary scene came into view on photo # 300 – a clear image of a metallic disc, flying above the lake, adorned with sun reflections and a raised central section. Sergio and the two other crew members of the plane were instructed to stay quiet and not speak publicly about the strange encounter and photo. However, just a few years later in 1979, the photo made its way to UAP researchers and the media, being crowned as the ‘best UAP photo ever taken‘.

The photo has enjoyed a recent upsurge in popularity as it has been restored and enhanced. Here is the cleaned-up and enhanced version of the famous snap:

What makes this photo more striking is not only the fact that it has been analyzed to be genuine, but also that it always remained securely held in Costa Rican Government’s chain of custody.

MANTA RAY UAP

On March 22 2015 near Ciudad Colon, a UAP resembling a manta ray was observed and photographed over a period of 11 minutes. The object had no visible propellers and did not appear to be properly lit up on the bright morning day. While the UAP also resembled a King Vulture, the strange coloring and very bright spot-reflections of the sun are inconsistent with any rational explanation and only deepen the mystery.

IRAZÚ VOLCANO UAP

In February of 2016, a disc-shaped craft with a central raised section was seen and photographed in the vicinity of Irazú Volcano. The witness took several photos of the volcano rim and horizon, noticing that there was something unusual about the clouds but not seeing the UAP that hovered beyond the rim. Only when he got home and took a closer look at the photos did he notice the UAP. In photos taken just seconds later, the UAP is nowhere to be seen – so it must have disappeared or departed at tremendous speed.

THE SAN JOSE LIGHTS

As seen in this video, a formation of bright lights was seen during the day in San Jose. The sighting took place in the Zapote district at around 4:40pm on August 13, 2011. The lights were seen by dozens of residents and the sighting was later broadcast on the local news channels.

WHAT ARE UAPs???

There are a number of theories about the origins of the UAP phenomenon. A few of the more popular takes state that UAPs are:

• Hoaxes, exaggerations, cries for attention.
• Normal, explainable man-made objects which are misidentified – like weather balloons, rockets, aircraft, drones, or satellites (especially Starlink).
• Natural phenomena like bright stars & planets, lightning & ball lightning, will-o-the-wisps, lenticular clouds, sun halos, and many others.
• Psychological phenomena like hallucinations, dreams, drug or alcohol influenced visions, or mass hysteria.
• According to psychiatrist Carl Jung, UAPs are projections of the collective unconscious – specifically those of archetypal images of God.
• Advanced human aircraft and drones developed in military secrecy, like was the case with F-117 Stealth Fighter.
• Alien visitors, travelling in craft from their homes beyond our solar system.
• Inter-dimensional craft carrying visitors from concurrent parallel dimensions.
• Us, from the future – UAPs are time machines.

DID YOU SEE AN UAP?

Great – you now have a story to tell over the campfire! You can also report your sighting to MUFON – Mutual UFO Network. You can make an online report here.

OUR LOCAL MYSTERIES

The cases presented above are but a tip of an iceberg when it comes to the unexplained in Costa Rica. A simple internet search will bring up numerous other examples where witnesses describe unexplained craft and lights. And if you talk to the local people there is always someone with a story. Interestingly, most significant sightings seems to take place in a small area between the Irazú and Arenal volcanoes. But wherever you are, keep your chin up and your camera ready – because you never know when something out-of-this-world may roll across the horizon!

Mysterious craft visiting our active volcanoes, formations of bright lights overflying our major cities, whispered stories shared between locals & expats alike – is it the mystery, or do our clear jungle skies want to make believers out of all? A starry night at the beach, a roaring backyard bonfire, or a simple glance at the infinite universe above may give you a glimpse of the unexplained!  RE/MAX WE SELL PARADISE is your trusted real estate partner in this land of wonder and mystery – browse the hot listings in our area and, when ready, give us a call – we are patiently waiting!