Costa Rica – September 4, 1971
A plane from the National Geographic Institute of Costa Rica was conducting an aerial mapping mission at 3,200 meters altitude over the Cote Lake region (Tilaran mountain range: 10° 35’ -1″ N, 84° 55’ -1″ W), covering an area 3.8 km on each side. The 4-person crew consisted of Sergio L. V., aerial photography specialist, Omar A., pilot, Juan B. C., geographer, and Francisco R. R., topographer.
During this mission, a strange disk, estimated to be about 62 meters in diameter with a metallic appearance, was accidentally photographed and appeared to be entering or exiting the lake with a strong tilt of the water’s surface. In summary, our analyses suggested that an unidentified, opaque, aerial object was captured on film at a maximum distance of 10,000 feet.
There is no visible means of propulsion and no external inscription other than dark areas that seem non-random… There is no indication that the image is the result of double exposure or deliberate forgery. – Haines and Vallée, 1989
Photos taken immediately before (photo no. 299) and after (photo no. 301), 20 seconds apart, show nothing at the same spot on the lake.
The absence of any shadow on the Earth’s surface suggests that the object itself was on or near the surface; therefore, no shadow of the disk would be expected. Also intriguing are the blurred parts on the left side of the disk, which can be explained by the possibility that the disk was partially submerged, producing an irregular boundary.
Researcher and computer scientist turned ufologist Jacques Vallée participated in the analysis of this photograph and recalled these facts in a recent interview:
Digital processing of photographs is very useful. In my book “Confrontations,” I mention the photograph I brought back from Costa Rica, which was uncommon because the object was over a lake [Lago de Cote], and so there was a uniform dark background. Everything is known about the plane that took the photo. When the photo was taken, no one on the plane saw the object. It was only after developing the film that the object was discovered. The camera used was exceptional: it produced a very large negative—ten inches, very detailed. You can see cows in the fields. The time is known; the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the plane are known. So we devoted a huge amount of time to analyzing this photograph, without finding any normal explanation as to the nature of the object. It appears to be a very large and massive thing.
The camera used was exceptional: it produced a very large negative—ten inches, very detailed. You can see cows in the fields.
I obtained the negative from the Costa Rican government—if you don’t have the negative, the analysis is a waste of time. I also obtained the negatives of the photo taken before and the next image, all uncensored. I took the negatives to a friend in France who works for a company that digitally analyzes satellite photographs. They digitized the whole thing and analyzed it as much as they could, and they could not find an explanation for the object.
This photograph, like many others, proves after study to be one of those establishing the reality of UFOs as machines or devices that are in no way of terrestrial origin.
Subsequent Observation
On October 25, 1986, around 9:00 a.m. on a clear day, the lake was calm and smooth as a mirror. Joaquin U. A. (farm owner, 40 years old) and Ronaldo-Alerto L. A. (farmer, 23 years old) saw, about 600 meters away, a row of 3 or 4 cylinders, resembling poles rising less than 3 feet above the lake. They appeared to be attached to a structure that remained submerged. Approaching the lake with their tractor, they saw another series of objects rising out of the water, still about 3 feet high and spaced about 3 feet apart. They could clearly and at leisure observe the cylinders, dark-colored (gray or coffee brown). After 5 or 10 minutes, the objects disappeared together, causing ripples and waves, still as if the emerged parts belonged to a single invisible structure. Two weeks later, they gave a detailed account to Vilchez and gave him a drawing of the event.
