On Friday, a 50-year-old Spanish extreme athlete emerged from a 500-day challenge in which she lived 70 meters (230 feet) deep in a cave outside Granada with little contact with the outside world.

Beatriz Flamini, wearing dark glasses and smiling as she acclimated to the light of spring in southern Spain, told reporters that time had gone by quickly and she didn't want to come out.

Flamini was surprised when she was awoken to leave the cave. "I hadn't finished my book," she remarked.

Her supporters claim she set a world record for the longest period of time spent in a cave, in an experiment supervised by specialists researching the human psyche and circadian rhythms.
She was 48 years old when she walked into the cave, where she spent two birthdays alone underneath.

Flamini launched her challenge on November 20, 2021, before the commencement of the Ukraine war, the repeal of Spain's COVID mask law, and the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

She did come out for eight days, according to her team, but she remained secluded in a tent until a router used to transfer audio and videos to her team was repaired.

She was met by a phalanx of photographers and her support squad, who enveloped her in an embrace on Friday.

When she was asked if she thought of abandoning her challenge she said " Never. In fact, i didn't want to come out."

Losing perception of time

Flamini spent her subterranean time working out, painting and designing, and crocheting warm hats. According to her support crew, she carried two GoPro cameras to capture her journey and read 60 books, and drank 1,000 liters of water.

She divulged that after her 60th day, she lost her perception of time. 

She stated that she had concentrated on maintaining "coherence," eating healthily and enjoying the stillness. She was looking forward to avocados, fresh eggs, and clean t-shirts that her support team had sent down previously.

"I didn't talk to myself out loud, but I had internal conversations and got on very well with myself," she said.

Flamini stated that her team had been told not to communicate with her under any circumstance, even in the event of the death of a family member.

"If it's no communication it's no communication regardless of the circumstances. The people who know me knew and respected that."

A team of psychologists, researchers, cave specialists, and physical trainers observed Flamini to get insight into how social isolation and disorientation influence time, brain rhythms, and sleep.

She stated that she would entrust herself to physicians to examine the impact on her health and psyche before embarking on fresh climbing and caving adventures.

Although Guinness could not immediately confirm if Flemini had broken a record for voluntary time spent living in a cave, the book of records' website grants the "longest time survived trapped underground" title to 33 Chilean and Bolivian miners who were trapped for 69 days and 688 meters (2,257 feet) in 2010.