A Spanish mountain climber emerged Friday from a cave 70 meters (230 feet) underground where she spent 500 days isolated from the outside world.
Beatriz Flamini, 50, of Madrid, left the cave in southern Spain shortly after 9 a.m. after being told by supporters that she had completed the feat she set out to accomplish on Nov. 21, 2021.
Spanish media said the spell underground set a new world record, but the claim could not be immediately confirmed.
The Spanish state news agency Efe later reported Flamini as saying she was obliged to temporarily halt the challenge after some 300 days and leave the cave for eight days because of a technical problem. Efe said she spent the eight days in a tent but had no contact with anyone before going back down once the problem was resolved.
It was not immediately possible to contact Flamini or her team for comment on this incident. Given that there are 509 days between April 14 and the day she started the project, it appears she spent at least 500 days underground with an interruption of eight days.
Blinking and smiling as she embraced well-wishers, Flamini’s first words including asking who would be paying for a celebratory round of beers.In brief comments to journalists, Flamini described the experience of being cut off from the world as “excellent, unbeatable.” She then asked to be excused as she needed her first shower in more than 16 months.
