By Khulile Thwala
A 50-year-old Spanish mountain climber has emerged from an underground cave where she spent 500 days in seclusion.
This was part of her experiment to identify the effects of isolation on the human body. The mountain climber, Beatriz Flamini smiled and embraced family members who had gathered to greet her as she climbed out of the cave near Motril in southern Spain.
“I haven’t talked to anyone for a year and a half, only myself,” the experienced mountaineer and solo climber told reporters, calling the experience “excellent, unbeatable”.
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Flamini began her challenge on November 21, 2021 — before Russia invaded Ukraine and while the world was still in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to a report from eNCA, she remained 70 metres underground, except for a week when she was forced to leave the cave because an internet router that allowed her to call for help in an emergency broke down.
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While the problem was being fixed, Flamini remained in isolation in a tent, she and members of her team told the daily newspaper El Pais and other Spanish media.
“I don’t know what has happened in the world. For me, it is still November 21, 2021,” she told reporters after leaving the cave.
Flamini said she spent her time reading with the aid of artificial lights, exercising, and knitting woolly hats. She was monitored by a technical team, who left food at an exchange point in the cave without having contact with her.
