Ferðalög | mbl | 23.5.2020 | 18:00

YouTube-stjarna varð eftir á afskekktri eyju

Eva zu Beck er á afskekktri eyju en passar sig þó á kórónuveirunni. Skjáskot/Instagram

Pólska YouTube-stjarnan Eva zu Beck varð eftir á eyjunni Socotra sem tilheyrir Jemen í mars og veit ekki hvenær hún kemst heim aftur. Hún ákvað að verða eftir þegar henni og öðrum ferðamönnum var ráðlagt að fara heim. YouTube-stjarnan segir á Instagram-síðu sinni að hún hafi verið á eyjunni í tvo og hálfan mánuð.

Í viðtali á vef CNN kemur fram að zu Beck hafi komið til eyjunnar með vikulegu flugi frá Kaíró 11. mars. Zu Beck fór til eyjunnar til þess að taka þátt í fyrsta maraþonhlaupinu sem haldið hefur verið á eyjunni. Hún ætlaði að vera á eyjunni í tvær vikur. Þann 15. mars, þegar YouTube-stjarnan var búin að hlaupa, var ljóst að leggja ætti flugsamgöngur frá eyjunni niður vegna veirunnar.

„Við vorum vakin upp um miðja nótt í tjöldunum okkar og okkur sagt að við ættum að fara strax á flugvöllinn,“ sagði zu Beck. YouTube-stjarnan ákvað að verða eftir á eyjunni með leyfi yfirvalda ásamt fjórum öðrum ferðamönnum í stað þess að ferðast langa leið til Evrópu. Kanadískur kærasti zu Beck varð eftir. Zu Beck segist ekki hafa gert sér grein fyrir alvarleika stöðunnar í mars.

„Lífið á Socotra er rólegt,“ sagði zu Beck í viðtalinu. „Ég ver flestum dögum úti að lesa bók, skrifa í dagbókina mína eða geng á fjöll.“

Zu Beck er dugleg að birta myndir af veru sinni á Instagram og setur relulega inn myndbönd á Youtube-síðu sína. Á meðan margir hafa verið fastir heima hjá sér vegna kórónuveirunnar hefur fygjendahópur hennar aukist.

Fyrsti mánuðrinn á eyjunni var eins og í draumi að því er fram kemur á Instagram-síðunni. Þrátt fyrir að ekki séu flugferðir frá eyjunni eru bátsferðir til Jemen og þar hafa verið að greinast smit. Stjarnan hefur fengið inni hjá fólki í litlum bæ og gerir sér grein fyrir að það sé tímaspursmál hvenær greinist smit á eyjunni.

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WELCOME TO MY NEW HOME! Yes, this little open space has been my home for a week. There is an actual room here too, four walls and all, but as long as the weather is nice, I work, chill and sleep right here, just outside. There is a washroom too, no kitchen though. But I’m lucky to be renting this space from a family who live next door, and who bake me bread and let me join their iftar dinners to break the Ramadan fast. We eat simply. Flatbread, dates and soft fluffy dough called maqathat to break the fast, followed by a thick shorba soup with oats. Then, more bread. The village I’m in - Shebhan - sits on a plateau overlooking the tallest mountain range on the island. I nicknamed it “Dragonblood Village” because hundreds of Socotra’s iconic dragonblood trees surround it. I slowly feel myself become addicted to falling asleep and waking up outside, out in the open air. The nights here are deep, and the days slow. For the present moment, this is life. ❤️ Would you want to live here? 🙃

A post shared by Eva zu Beck ♡ Adventure Travel (@evazubeck) on May 2, 2020 at 4:30am PDT

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2.5 MONTHS ON THE ISLAND: ❤️2️⃣❤️ COVID-19 UPDATE. Thank you to everyone who has been so concerned about my stay on the island. 🙏 #Respect_Socotra, You have given me a new perspective and I apologize if I sent the wrong message before. Things are different from what they were before. My 1st month here was a “honeymoon period”, and the island felt very much sealed from COVID-19 due to restricted traffic. But, times change. Currently, many cases are being reported in mainland Yemen, and with some boat traffic to the island, not all of it properly quarantined (as it seems), locals have concerns. People (not tourists) have continued to arrive on Socotra. People are on alert, and wary that there is a possibility that the virus will eventually make it here, whether that’s tomorrow or in a year from now. Before, it felt safe to travel to different places around the island, but that’s no longer the case. Over the last 3 weeks, I’ve been spending the majority of my time in a family home in one village and intend to keep it this way. According to health professionals, the island is free of COVID-19, and while people want to trust them, it’s hard to know for sure without proper testing facilities. So in the village, Shibhan, they’re starting to take measures, just in case. Getting ready for the future. My host is trying to change the greeting habits in the village (from a handshake and a kiss to a wave), which isn’t easy but as he says, “we’ve got to start somewhere”. We started sewing face masks. From the perspective of time, given the knowledge I have now about the spread and nature of the virus, would I have made the decision to come here in the first place? No. My intention was never to encourage active travel to remote places during a pandemic. Rather, I wanted to share the beauty of a place I was already in, a place that’s little-known and needs to be protected. Remote places and populations are at a higher risk from the virus - in part because of limited healthcare infrastructure. Leaving? Hopefully. It’s a work in progress. Please donate to @monarelief, a local NGO working to bring basic necessities to people in Yemen: patreon.com/monarelief ❤

A post shared by Eva zu Beck ♡ Adventure Travel (@evazubeck) on May 19, 2020 at 6:41am PDT