No knowledge of war – Spanish woman is completely isolated underground for 500 days

The cave, which was the Spaniard’s home for over a year, is located in the southern Spanish province of Granada. At 9:07 a.m. on Friday, she climbed out of the hole with a big smile and lots of media hype.

“If you allow it, I’ll take a shower first”
“I’ll tell you what it was like down there. But if you allow me, I’m going to take a shower first, because I haven’t touched water in a year and a half,” she said laughing out loud for the cameras of state television channel RTVE and other media outlets. , which was broadcast live for hours from the Costa Tropical in Granada.

Underground experience was “unsurpassed”
Described by the media as a “top athlete,” Flamini looked healthy and emotional, though she admitted she had trouble balancing at first. Contrary to the recommendation, when the sun shone brightly, she took off not only her protective helmet, but also her dark glasses. In her first brief statement, she described the experience as “excellent, unbeatable, unbeatable!”

Project was supervised by researchers
The “Timecave” project, captured on video, was led and supervised by researchers from different disciplines from the Universities of Granada and Almeria. According to her, Flamini has had no contact with the outside world at all since the start of the experiment in November 2021. Among other things, she had no watch and no telephone. She had electricity and a laptop that allowed her to send information to the outside world but not receive it.

According to the Spanish researchers, Flamini broke the “world record” of Italy’s Christine Lanzoni, who spent exactly 269 days in a cave in 2007. The experiment caused a stir in Spain – and pride, too. Industry, Commerce and Tourism Secretary Hector Gomez paid tribute to the woman’s courage.

However, the experiment was by no means just a “test of courage”. The researchers want to investigate the effects of complete isolation and determine, among other things, whether this has led to neuropsychological and cognitive changes. There should also be a documentary.

But what was life like in the dark cave? According to information, Flamini had a tent there. The team regularly provided them with tons (a total of one and a half) of food, water, coffee and other materials left behind in a “safe zone”. This zone was monitored by cameras 24 hours a day. Flamini had to visit there regularly for safety reasons, “so that we could make sure she was okay,” explains speleologist Paco Morales.

There were also difficult days: ‘Want to cry all the time’
In solitude the adventurer philosophized a lot, said the speleologist. “She sent us videos, read 60 books. She wrote poems and stories.” Of course there were also difficult moments. One of the videos released shows Flamini desperately throwing his hands in front of his face saying, “What an awful day. I just want to cry all the time.”