After a long bus ride from Mendoza, we spent a day and night stretching our legs and checking out Córdoba. Seemed like a reasonable place but, once again, a fairly big city and so not our cup of tea. Preferring to spend some time bein’ chili in some of the nearby smaller towns, we decided to head to Capilla del Monte (“Chapel of the Hill” in Spanish). A quaint and sleepy town of just over ten thousand, Capilla del Monte is known internationally as a hotspot of UFO and other paranormal activity. We thought maybe we’d have better luck with the ETs after coming up short in Pisco…
chillin' with Sparky & a friendly ET We arrived in Capilla del Monte after a relatively quick and uneventful two hour bus ride form Córdoba. After settling on a hostel, we wandered around the deserted town looking for a place to grab lunch. It was around this time that we finally realized why we’d been having such a hard time finding food in the afternoons: siesta! Almost everything seems to shut down from about 1pm to 4pm or later, which is extremely annoying if your body has yet to adjust to taking long afternoon naps. After finally finding a restaurant that was open (probably only because the owners were holding a birthday party for their young son) we spent the afternoon exploring town.
the shoe. woooooo-weeeee. It’s so startling to see the difference in people’s attitudes between the city and the smaller towns – people genuinely look healthier and happier, eagerly greeting us as we pass by with “hola buenas tardes qué tal?” (hello good afternoon how are you?), instead of averting their eyes or staring maliciously while hitting themselves in the face due to their city-induced schizophrenia. All over town were references to UFOs and ETs, with cafés proudly displaying their menus in the hands of inflatable alien figures. We walked over to check out one of the main tourist attractions, a rock that looks like a shoe, aptly named “el zapato” (the shoe). This was about the level of excitement we were looking for. =)
Paranormal Activity
Although we didn’t actually expect to have any paranormal experiences, during our first night some curious events took place which I have trouble describing. From what I can recall, I was woken up in the middle of the night when Chelsea let out a muffled moan. I reached over and gently shook her awake, assuming she was having a bad dream. After a bit of reassuring we both lay back down and started to drift off. A few minutes later, however, we were both startled by a bright flash just outside the window, accompanied by an audible “pop!”. I assumed it was some kind of electrical phenomenon like a fuse blowing or a wire shorting out, and tried to get back to sleep. The right of my night was quite restless, and though I managed to sleep on and off I kept hearing a rattling noise, as if someone was trying to get into our window.
Once morning finally came, Chelsea and I nervously discussed the events of the past night - her version of the story was much more disturbing. At some point, she was awoken when she heard me let out a muffled moan, as if I was in some kind of trouble. Although she wanted to help me, she was completely paralyzed, only able to move her eyes. She looked down and saw a shadowy figure standing at the foot of our bed, watching us. The figure looked like it was wearing a cloak and maybe also a fedora hat, though it was hard to tell since it was so dark and unclear. Chelsea was sure, though, that the figure was responsible for her paralysis, as if it was holding her down with its mind, while somehow drawing energy from her fear. Finally, with all the effort she could muster, she managed to get out a bit of a squeak, at which point I woke up and the figure vanished. From here on, our stories matched: the flash and pop, followed by rattling at the window through the rest of night.
I’d like to dismiss this all as just a bad dream, but with what we both are positive we experienced after we’d awoke in the night, I’m not so sure. In the light of day, we checked out the area outside our window, looking for signs of any kind of electrical event. There was nothing there: no electrical box, no wires, no fuses, no burn marks; nothing but a pile of leaves. What could have caused that flash?
Once morning finally came, Chelsea and I nervously discussed the events of the past night - her version of the story was much more disturbing. At some point, she was awoken when she heard me let out a muffled moan, as if I was in some kind of trouble. Although she wanted to help me, she was completely paralyzed, only able to move her eyes. She looked down and saw a shadowy figure standing at the foot of our bed, watching us. The figure looked like it was wearing a cloak and maybe also a fedora hat, though it was hard to tell since it was so dark and unclear. Chelsea was sure, though, that the figure was responsible for her paralysis, as if it was holding her down with its mind, while somehow drawing energy from her fear. Finally, with all the effort she could muster, she managed to get out a bit of a squeak, at which point I woke up and the figure vanished. From here on, our stories matched: the flash and pop, followed by rattling at the window through the rest of night.
I’d like to dismiss this all as just a bad dream, but with what we both are positive we experienced after we’d awoke in the night, I’m not so sure. In the light of day, we checked out the area outside our window, looking for signs of any kind of electrical event. There was nothing there: no electrical box, no wires, no fuses, no burn marks; nothing but a pile of leaves. What could have caused that flash?
crappy bike of doom At any rate, we tried to shake it all off and got on with our day. We rented a couple really crappy bicycles and rode for a while around town. There are a ridiculous number of dogs in Capilla del Monte, and all of them seem to pass the time barking and snarling at gringos passing on bikes. Everywhere we went, we were surrounded by screaming dogs! Every yard seemed to be home for two or three, plus there are dozens of strays that wander around town. Luckily, early in the day a stray (who we named Sparky) adopted us and followed us around for hours, protecting us from the other dogs. He made it clear to any challengers that we were his gringos. At the end of the day we rewarded him for his courage and loyalty with a little bag of dog food from the market.
Our second night was thankfully uneventful, so on our third day we decided to hike up Cerro Uritorco, the hill around which all the paranormal happenings are said to be centred. We caught a quick taxi ride to the base of the hill, paid the $12 each at the registration office (pretty expensive just to use a trail!), and began the two and a half hour hike up to the top.
Our second night was thankfully uneventful, so on our third day we decided to hike up Cerro Uritorco, the hill around which all the paranormal happenings are said to be centred. We caught a quick taxi ride to the base of the hill, paid the $12 each at the registration office (pretty expensive just to use a trail!), and began the two and a half hour hike up to the top.
The famous Cerro Uritorco Cerro Uritorco is…
A world-renowned hotspot of paranormal activity and UFO sightings – Google “Cerro Uritorco” and check out the crazy UFO images that come up.
An area of high concentration of mystical energy, with explanations varying from giant underground quartz crystals to it being “located at the cross-roads of two different types of energy grid” (Borderlands Journal, 1993).
Believed to be hollow and home to a secret group of extraterrestrial beings (called “ERKS” standing for Energy Ray Kinetic Sun), with entrance only possible through secret portals that cannot be crossed by mortal man.
A world-renowned hotspot of paranormal activity and UFO sightings – Google “Cerro Uritorco” and check out the crazy UFO images that come up.
An area of high concentration of mystical energy, with explanations varying from giant underground quartz crystals to it being “located at the cross-roads of two different types of energy grid” (Borderlands Journal, 1993).
Believed to be hollow and home to a secret group of extraterrestrial beings (called “ERKS” standing for Energy Ray Kinetic Sun), with entrance only possible through secret portals that cannot be crossed by mortal man.
Something in the Sky
Yeah, people say some pretty nutso stuff about this place. As we hiked, we made sure to keep our eyes on the sky and camera ready just in case we actually saw something. We reached the top and took a break to enjoy the beautiful scenery and a couple sandwiches. Although we did see some awesome condors flying overhead, we didn’t spot anything paranormal. I set up the camera on a nearby rock to get a sandwich-selfie, and when I checked the photo to see how it turned out, I was shocked to see this:
were we being watched?
While we were sitting there enjoying our sandwiches, it looked like something was in the sky behind us. We scoured the horizon but there was nothing to be seen. What the fuck?!
This was enough to peak our interest, so we got comfortable and did our best to summon the visitors while keeping our eyes on the sky. What we saw completely blew our minds. All I can really say is, WOW.
This was enough to peak our interest, so we got comfortable and did our best to summon the visitors while keeping our eyes on the sky. What we saw completely blew our minds. All I can really say is, WOW.
grey disc hovering in the distance
A handful of times we spotted a grey, disc-like object in the sky. At times we’d spot it far off on the horizon, swaying back and forth slowly but not seeming be moving any closer or further away. It would then suddenly disappear, only to reappear in another part of the sky. At one point we both witnessed it moving at an incredible speed toward us from the distance, growing from a barely visible speck on the horizon to a saucer about the size of a small Cessna in the span of a couple seconds, but without any audible noise. For over an hour we sat there in a trance, me doing my best to try to catch the object in a photo. Although it was hard to tell at the time, after reviewing our photos more closely it looks as though there were at least two different objects in the sky that day (though never at the same time). The one we saw much more often was clearly saucer-shaped, but other photos show one that seems more spherical.
spherical object that was zooming by at incredible speeds
Eventually, another couple hikers made it to the top and we excitedly asked them if they’d seen anything. Somehow, they hadn’t! (You should’ve seen the looks they gave us when we asked). We all continued to watch for another hour or so, but there was nothing to be seen. We finally gave up and made our way back down in a daze. What the hell had we seen? Why didn’t it show up when there were other people around? Could it have had something to do with our experience from a couple nights before? There are still shivers down my spine as I write this up a few weeks later…
After doing some more detailed web research on Cerro Uritorco, I came up with a few interesting details:
“…people believe that there is a kind of intraterrestrial city in Cerro Uritorco, and this hill is in fact hollow inside. People from there would be the Erks that go out at night and “contact” special people from the sky via light signals or telepathy.” (unicotrip.com, 2013) Could it have been an ERK that was paralyzing Chelsea with its mind that night?
“Rare light visions have fed speculation that UFOs occasionally land around the Uritorco. One rational explanation for the phenomenon could be that under certain meteorological conditions the rock, rich in quartz, favours electric discharges of sparks, also known as St Elmo's fire.” (ufocasebook.com, 2007) Could this be what happened just outside our window? St. Elmo’s Fire?
After doing some more detailed web research on Cerro Uritorco, I came up with a few interesting details:
“…people believe that there is a kind of intraterrestrial city in Cerro Uritorco, and this hill is in fact hollow inside. People from there would be the Erks that go out at night and “contact” special people from the sky via light signals or telepathy.” (unicotrip.com, 2013) Could it have been an ERK that was paralyzing Chelsea with its mind that night?
“Rare light visions have fed speculation that UFOs occasionally land around the Uritorco. One rational explanation for the phenomenon could be that under certain meteorological conditions the rock, rich in quartz, favours electric discharges of sparks, also known as St Elmo's fire.” (ufocasebook.com, 2007) Could this be what happened just outside our window? St. Elmo’s Fire?
Reflections
A lot of things I’ve read and heard surrounding paranormal phenomenon suggest that your likelihood of experiencing an event is greatly increased when you spend time discussing, investigating, even thinking about such things. To me, this can mean one of three things: these things are happening around us all the time, but only when you’re in the mindset of a believer is your consciousness able to acknowledge them; your interest has caught the attention of whatever you’ve been investigating, making them come and seek you out; or that your thoughts have simply made you more paranoid and more likely to see things that aren’t really there: shadows that look like figures or creaking floorboards that sound like gremlins, for example. Leading up to these events we’d definitely been talking about what would happen if we had an encounter, as well as watching scary UFO movies and reading some details about mystical Cerro Uritorco.
At any rate, we without a doubt saw something in the sky that day. I have no idea what it was, but the experience has radically transformed my views on intelligent life in the Universe. I never actually believed that there was something truly special about Earth; that in a near-infinite Universe consisting of billions of other planets, only Earth could harbor intelligent life. Until now, though, I’d been confident that if intelligent life did discover us then they’d be advanced enough to either remain completely secret and unseen, or simply wipe out humanity before we knew what hit us. I’m not so sure anymore…
At any rate, we without a doubt saw something in the sky that day. I have no idea what it was, but the experience has radically transformed my views on intelligent life in the Universe. I never actually believed that there was something truly special about Earth; that in a near-infinite Universe consisting of billions of other planets, only Earth could harbor intelligent life. Until now, though, I’d been confident that if intelligent life did discover us then they’d be advanced enough to either remain completely secret and unseen, or simply wipe out humanity before we knew what hit us. I’m not so sure anymore…
Just kidding! We took photos of rocks (and an avocado pit) that we threw into the air. Were you fooled?
That bit about the figure and the flash outside our window is true, though, for realsies. Creepy stuff!
Wishing you a night of chilly encounters,
~Mandrew
That bit about the figure and the flash outside our window is true, though, for realsies. Creepy stuff!
Wishing you a night of chilly encounters,
~Mandrew
To open Córdoba & Capilla del Monte photos in another window, click here.
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