Sky People (27 page)

“Did you report the incident to the authorities?” I asked.

“No. Like I told you, I told my father, and he suggested that I keep the story to myself. After all, it is unbelievable, but I swear to you on my mother’s grave, it is true.” Carlos paused, looked at his watch and stood. “I am sorry. I must go to work.” He bowed slightly and walked away.

I
never saw Carlos again. Later that day, I packed my suitcases and left Oaxaca City, but I have thought of him often. It is true: Many people do not believe stories about UFOs. I, for one, am not one of them. I believe Carlos spoke the truth
.

A
fter leaving the state of Oaxaca and the Zapotec, I resumed my original intent of following in the footsteps of Stephens and Catherwood. My first stop was the classic Maya city Toniná, which was located in the highlands of the state of Chiapas. John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood visited Toniná in 1840
.

The word
Toniná
meant “House of Stone” in the Tzeltal Mayan dialect. Located in the middle of an operating cattle ranch today, the city was cut into the base of the mountain and resembled a mountain fortress. The main temple was a lunar temple, which was rare; the majority of the Maya temples were solar. The locals maintained that if you sit at the top of the highest temple, you can see the four corners of the world or, if you prefer, you can enter the underworld from the same place. Known for its military emphasis, Toniná was often called the “Place of the Celestial Captives.”

A number of local stories abound about shapeshifting Sky People and underground alien bases related to Toniná. While not a popular site for ufologists, I set out to discover the mystery around the site as I followed in the footsteps of the two explorers. In this chapter, you will learn about local encounters with UFOs at Toniná
.

The Acropolis, the main pyramid, was the core of the site at Toniná. It consisted of a hill that reached a height of almost 300 feet and included seven platforms. The bottom three were dedicated to the underworld, the middle one to the middle world, and the top three were dedicated to the upper world. On the top terraces, there were thirteen temples. As I climbed the Acropolis, I
was literally making my way to heaven. According to the ancient Maya belief, this ascent connected the individual climber to heaven.

Sitting at the top, I understood how the subjects of the powerful kings believed this temple led to heaven. Located on the side of a hill, the ceremonial temples reached for the sky. As I sat there pondering the idea of heavenly ascension, I saw a maintenance worker climbing to the top. He had a bottle of water in his hand and a lunch bag. It was obvious that he was searching for a shaded spot to eat his lunch. Anxious to connect with someone who was familiar to the site, I called out to him.

“Hola,”
I said as he came near me. He hesitated, but smiled.

“Hola,”
he replied. “Do you like our beautiful city?”

“Very much,” I replied. “How long have you been working at this site?”

“Forty years,” he said. “I have been here since I was twelve.”

“You speak very good English,” I said.

“Sí
. I learn from tourists. They are good teachers.”

“Please, sit down,” I said as I noticed him anxiously looking around for a place to rest and eat his lunch. He sat on the steps below me. He was a small man, only a few inches more than five feet. His course, black hair was perfectly groomed. As I looked closer, I noticed that he appeared to be blind in one eye, and I often saw him moving his head to compensate for the impairment.

“I have heard stories that Toniná is a special site that has connections with the cosmos,” I said. “Can you tell me if it’s true?” A broad smile crossed his face as he took a bite of the tortilla he had retrieved from his lunch bag, but not before offering me the second one in the bag. He smiled when I declined his generosity, and offered me a bottle of water instead. When I showed him my water bottle, he nodded and finished off the first tortilla before speaking.

“Sí
. There are many stories told by the elders. Some say the direct descendants of the Sky People, whose blood remains pure live underground. Some say they serve as ambassadors to the
Sky People who live in the heavens. That is the reason why the UFOs come back to Toniná. It is to meet with the ambassadors and to learn about the condition of the Earth and its people.”

“Have you ever seen these descendants of the Sky People?” I asked.

“I saw them several times, Señora,” he said. “When I I was younger, I was a night security officer. They come out at night. Perhaps to get fresh air. They do not go far. They stay together.”

“Are they like people?”

“Oh
sí
. Just like me,” he said. “I could never get close enough to see them clearly. Some elders say that during the day they can change to anything they want to be, and they do that to live among us. We do not even know they are here. They could be a tourist or a stranger from another town and since they can change at will, we never know they are among us. You could be one,” he said.

“Do you believe this is true?”

“I believe what the elders say. The elders say they live among us.”

“I understand,” I replied.

“The elders say that if you come to Toniná with a pure heart, and you sit quietly and meditate, you will feel the Sky People trying to communicate with you. Unfortunately, those who visit our beautiful city have little time to sit and meditate. They are too busy. They take photos and move on. They want all of their friends to know they climbed a pyramid. But that is not what Toniná is about. Toniná is a connection with the universe and the Sky People. It is sacred and is waiting to be discovered by the outside world.”

“Have you ever seen UFOs at this site?” I asked.

“UFOs. Oh
sí. Muchas veces
. Many times. As I said the people from the sky come back to meet with the ancients who live underground. That is where the knowledge of the Earth is stored. It is protected there in case the people above ground destroy the world; the survivors will not have to start all over again. It happened
before. The Earth was destroyed and the survivors had to start over again. This time, when the next world begins, the knowledge will be saved, and the people will not have to begin again.”

“Have you ever gone underground?” I asked.

“Oh, no. They say that you only go to the underworld after you die. I will go there someday but I am not in a hurry to make the trip.” With the last comment, he stood and laughed. “I must get back to work. Nice talking to you, Señora,” he said. He touched the tip of his navy blue baseball hat, and said, “Have a happy day.”

As I sat there meditating, willing the Sky People to communicate, a man approached wearing an Indiana Jones-style hat and khaki trousers with a vest covered with pockets. As I sat there in the sweltering heat, sweating from every pore in my body, I wondered how someone could climb a pyramid and still look unruffled and cool. I once had a guide who told me he could always tell Europeans from Americans. “Europeans don’t sweat; Americans sweat.” He went on to tell me that North and South Americans sweat, and Mexicans sweat, but not Europeans. As the man approached and sat down, I waited for him to speak. His first word,
“Bonjour,”
revealed he was one of those non-sweating Europeans. “Américain?” he asked in French. I nodded. “May I sit?” I nodded again. He told me he was a visiting archaeologist. We talked about Paris, his home city, and then our conversation turned to the legends surrounding the mystery of this celestial city.

“In the early-morning hours, the mist and clouds frequently engulf the top of the pyramids. It is then that you believe that the temples reach to heavens,” he explained.

“Have you ever seen the star ambassadors described in the local legends?” I asked.

“I can’t say that I have, but I have seen UFOs in the area. I have seen lights that flit around, congregate, and then fly off again. The ball court below is their playground.”

“Have you ever seen spacecraft or do you only see lights?”

“Mostly lights. You see many things when you work at this site. The air is so clear. The stars so bright. You begin, like the ancients, to memorize the sky. Any change is noted. I have never seen a UFO up close, however, but I have definitely seen objects that I could not identify.” He stood and began to descend the stairway. “I have some posters in my tent of this site. If you would like, you may stop by. I will give one to you.” Before leaving Toniná, I stopped by his field site. Although the archaeologist was not there, a site worker gave me a poster.

T
he poster of Toniná is proudly displayed in my writing studio. Every time I enter, I remember the Frenchman, who did not sweat, and the stories of the star ambassadors who regularly stop by to check on planet Earth. It is not the first time I have heard about visitors from the stars who assume the identity of humans. I am fairly certain it will not be the last
.

S
tephens and Catherwood arrived in Palenque in May 1840. To get there they hacked their way through overgrown jungles and then, with horses and mules, forged the Rio Lagertero into Chiapas. The ancient city of Palenque is about eight miles from the town of the same name. Upon arrival, Stephens and Catherwood set about immediately making plans to visit the site. The trip was long and difficult through a virgin forest that was next to impassable
.

Catherwood stayed at the ancient city twenty-eight days and nights. When he became too ill with malaria to work, he was forced to leave the ancient site and move to the Yucatan Peninsula
.

On my first day at Palenque, I met a tour guide, Manolo, who agreed to take me throughout the entire park, stopping only briefly to familiarize me with the site. Little did I know at the time that this man would introduce me to his cousin, who had a unique and remarkable story about an encounter with a UFO. In this chapter, you will meet Angel and his remarkable dog, Trueno. Both had an encounter
.

Benito and I arrived in Palenque in the late evening. We ate dinner that night at the hotel and recapped our travels. The next morning, after breakfast, Benito left for San Cristóbal. After saying goodbye, I headed for the Palenque archaeological site. At that point, I had not hired a driver, nor a guide, but had decided instead to depend upon locating a guide outside the ancient site. My initial goal was to familiarize myself with the grounds and to spend the next several days exploring the site. As I approached
the entrance, a tour guide named Manolo approached me. With his perfect English and unparalleled enthusiasm, I hired him on the spot. As we entered the site, one brazen vendor stopped us with a leather painting of the sarcophagus of Pakal, who reigned some sixty-eight years over the ancient city of Palenque, and asked, “Have you heard of Palenque’s ancient astronaut?” I knew he was referring to von Däniken’s interpretation of Pakal’s sarcophagus. Instead of Pakal sitting astride the tree of life for his journey to the underworld, as the Maya believe, von Däniken described the tree as a spaceship. When I asked the young man if he had ever seen a UFO, he nodded and replied, “Many times.” I told him about my interest in UFOs and the stories I had been collecting during my travels. “I will tell you about my UFO,” he said, “but you must wait until tomorrow. I will bring my father to help me sell and then we can talk.”

As we left the vendor, Manolo commented that he had a cousin who had experienced a number of UFO encounters on his ranch near Palenque town. He agreed to set up a meeting with his cousin, so we cut our tour of the site to half a day. I returned to the hotel for a late lunch and waited for word from Manolo about a possible meeting.

At 6 p.m. he knocked on my hotel door. We drove approximately twenty miles outside of Palenque town and pulled off the highway. When we arrived at the ranch, Angel, Manolo’s cousin, was waiting for us. Following introductions, Angel took us on a tour of his property. “Manolo tells me you collect stories about UFOs.” Before I could respond, he continued. “If you want a story, you have come to the right place.” Angel owned nearly eighty hectares near the ancient city of Palenque. Occasionally, he stopped and pointed out a view of the monuments of the ancient city, and, at other times, he pointed out specific places of interest where the UFOs visited his property. Following the forty-five-minute walk, we returned to the veranda. Prior to beginning the interview, his daughter brought refreshments and disappeared inside the house once we were served.

“I always get up at 4 a.m. I eat breakfast, go to the barn, saddle my horse, check the fences, and make sure the animals are well. That is my routine. It is always the same.”

“Do you check the fences alone?” I asked.

“Yes. My boys get up an hour later. I ride alone with my dog.”

“So it is dark when you set out, right?”

“Yes. By the time I set out for the fields, the sun is just peeking over the horizon. This particular morning, as I set out, I saw a large, brilliant ball of light in the east. At first, I thought it was the sun, but then I realized it was moving toward me. It kept coming closer. As it approached, it swooped close to the ground and veered off to the north and made a wide circle and came back and hovered about ten meters above me. Trueno, my dog, began to howl.” I looked at the listless animal lying at his feet. Angel stooped over and petted him. “The horses in the barn began to snort and kick the sides of their stall. I ran into the barn, calling Trueno to come with me, but he didn’t move. He sat there like he was stone, but I could see his whole body tremble. He was terrified, and yet, he would not follow me into the barn.”

“Did you go to him and try to get his attention?”

“No. I was too afraid. I pulled my horse into the barn and put him in his stall. I called and called Trueno, but he stayed outside.”

“How long were you in the barn?” I asked.