Five hundred days in a cave
Back in November 2021, the Spanish athlete Beatriz Flamini was lowered 70 metres beneath the Earth’s surface, and left in a cave outside Granada. She celebrated her 49th birthday in it, then her 50th; and last week, having spent 500 days alone, she finally emerged – having had, she told the world’s press, an “excellent” time. She spent her days exercising, drawing, and knitting hats, while being monitored by a team of scientists, none of whom were allowed to talk to her. The trick to thriving in the cave, she learnt, was to live in the present. “I was where I wanted to be, and so I dedicated myself to it,” she said. “I got on very well with myself.” She read 60 books,…
