On April 14, 2023, Beatriz Flamini, a 50-year-old Spanish mountain climber from Madrid, emerged from a cave after spending 500 days in isolation, setting a potential new world record. Flamini began her underground adventure on November 21, 2021, in a cave in southern Spain.
Due to a technical issue, Flamini had to temporarily halt her challenge after about 300 days and leave the cave for eight days. During this time, she stayed in a tent with no contact with anyone before returning to the cave to complete her isolation.
The project, called Timecave, aimed to study how a person would cope with extended solo underground isolation. Flamini documented her experiences with two cameras, exchanging the recordings with her team through a retrieval site where they also dropped off food and other necessities.
Psychologists, researchers, speleologists, and physical trainers involved with Timecave studied Flamini's recordings without having direct contact with her. At a press conference, Flamini said she felt as though she was still living in 2021 and was unaware of events that had occurred since, such as the Russia-Ukraine war.
Flamini did not want to give up on her challenge, even during difficult moments, such as an invasion of flies. She spent her time underground reading, drawing, weaving, and enjoying her experience. Flamini admitted to missing certain things but accepted it as part of the project.
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