The Spanish extreme athlete Beatriz Flamini lived 500 days underground for the “Timecave” experiment, setting a world record.
Munich/Motril – The Spanish extreme athlete Beatriz Flamini voluntarily spent 500 days alone in a cave – in the service of science. She broke a new world record. The adventuress emerged on Friday (April 14) in a good mood and laughing, saying she “enjoyed” the experience and said the time had flown by. During her isolation, she was unaware of world events and had no idea about the Ukraine war and the end of the corona pandemic.
50-year-old Spaniard lives 500 days underground: How did Beatriz Flamini pass the time?
The video-captured experiment “Timecave” examined the physical and mental effects of complete isolation without any time orientation. The 50-year-old Spaniard Beatriz Flamini lived in a cave 70 meters deep in the southern Spanish province of Granada – without a watch and without a telephone. Although the extreme athlete had electricity and a laptop, she could only use them to send information, not receive it. The Spaniard didn’t speak to anyone in the 500 days – “except to herself,” as she says.
The mountaineer slept underground in a tent and was supplied with food, water, coffee and other material such as batteries from outside. A support team left the provisions in a “security zone” where the 50-year-old had to stop by regularly for security reasons. “So we could be sure that she was okay,” explained the speleologist involved in the project, Paco Morales. A camera recorded the “Timecave” experiment underground, researchers from the Universities of Granada and Almería accompanied the project.
In the loneliness, the adventuress philosophized a lot. “She sent us videos, read 60 books, (…) she wrote poems and stories,” says Morales. The 50-year-old also did sports or knitted underground. Her motivation was probably also an incentive to persevere. “I also do this because I think it can help to help and improve (other people’s lives),” the extreme athlete said at a press conference on Friday about the scientific experiment.
Experiment in the service of science: These were the greatest challenges for the adventuress
With 500 days underground, extreme athlete Flamini broke the previous world record set by Italian Christine Lanzoni, who spent 269 days in a cave in 2007. “There have been many challenges of this type, but none with all these characteristics (…) : total isolation, no contact with the outside world, no natural light, no reference to time,” said David Reyes of the Andalusian Caving Association, explaining the difficulties of the “Timecave” experiment. .
In addition to all these challenges, there was also a plague of flies in the cave at times. Another time, Flamini had to interrupt the experiment for security reasons, as a router had to be repaired that the Spaniard could have used to call for help in an emergency. During this time, the extreme athlete lived above ground for a week, but still in complete isolation in a tent next to the cave entrance.
But even for the adventurer, the time in the cave was not always easy, as a published video shows. The athlete desperately puts her hands in front of her face and says: “What a terrible day. I just want to cry all the time.” “But she has a lot of experience, survival experience, so she had a good handle on everything,” emphasized the researcher Morales.
Adventurer is looking forward to one thing after 500 days underground
When Beatriz Flamini climbed out of the hole with a beaming smile after 500 days underground on Friday, observers believed that she made a good impression in terms of health and emotions. The adventurer spoke of a “great” and “unprecedented” experience. She came out of it with “incredible vitality and strength,” researcher Morales told the media.
Barely arrived at the surface, the Spaniard is apparently already planning her next adventure. Details were not initially known. But there were also short-term plans: Flamini said that after the time in the cave, there was one thing he was particularly looking forward to: “I’ll tell you how it was down there (…) But if you allow it, go I’m going to take a shower now because I haven’t touched water for a year and a half,” she said, laughing out loud in front of the cameras of state TV broadcaster RTVE. (bme/dpa/afp)
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