A travel blogger who found herself stranded on a Yemen island during the coronavirus crisis reveals how she resorted to sailing for six days on a cargo ship to the UAE in order to catch a flight home to Poland.
Eva zu Beck, 29, arrived on Socotra, in the Arabian Sea, on a commercial flight from Cairo in early March, but struggled to find a way to leave after the island shut down due to protect the population from COVID-19.
With flights not allowed to land on the island, the only commercial options were to sail to Oman, which had closed its borders, or to the mainland, which Eva believed was risky due to the health crisis and civil war.
As the political situation worsened on Socotra – Yemeni separatists have since seized the island from the Saudi-backed government – Eva spent weeks searching for a way home before being granted passage on a cargo ship to the Middle East.
Eva zu Beck, 29, arrived on Socotra, in the Arabian Sea, on a regular commercial flight from Cairo in March, but struggled to find a way to leave after the island shut down due to COVID-19
Eva spent weeks searching for a way home before being granted passage on a cargo ship to the Middle East. She documented the journey on her YouTube channel (pictured on the ship)
The journey, which was documented on Eva’s YouTube channel, took six days and the group were made to spend another eight days on board the vessel off the coast of the UAE to quarantine before being allowed in to transit and take a flight home.
Speaking from her home in Poland, Eva said: ‘I found myself on the island of Socotra in Yemen, and stayed there for the next 80 days.
‘That means I got to spend pretty much the entire lockdown in Socotra and I’m so blessed to have been there on that incredible island.
‘But I knew that situation wouldn’t last. I knew I couldn’t be there forever and the political situation on the island was slowly deteriorating while we were there, which was three weeks ago.’
Eva said she was ‘so lucky’ to have spent time on the ‘incredible island’ of Socotra, in the Arabian Sea but wanted to leave before the political situation worsened. Pictured on Socotra
Eva, who has 475,000 Instagram followers, documented her time on Socotra on the social media site. Pictured, Eva exploring the island during her travels this spring
Yemen has faced major conflict since late 2014 when the country descended into civil war. In recent weeks the crisis has worsened on Socotra itself, with Yemeni separatists deposing its governor and driving out the forces of the Saudi-backed government, which condemned the action as a coup.
Alongside rising political tensions, Eva was aware that the island’s windy season, known as Khareef, was fast approaching, which brings with it winds so strong that the island is effectively ‘cut off’ until the weather turns again in October.
Eva continued: ‘I knew if I stayed there I ran the risk of being stuck there until Autumn. My friends and I spent about a month trying to find a way off the island since the beginning of May.
‘See, there was no coronavirus on the island, as far as I know there still isn’t. But the island was keen to protect itself and its people from the virus, so there were limited travel options.’
After several weeks, Eva (pictured) and the rest of her group were granted permission to take a cargo ship to Abu Dhabi, which would take six days travelling 2,500 kilometers at a speed of around 15 kilometers an hour
On the ship, Eva (pictured) reflected on what life was like on the island without any Wifi or easy contact to the outside world
After arriving in the UAE Eva and her friends were unable to leave the ship for an additional eight days, and needed a coronavirus test before being given a visa
After several weeks, the group were granted permission to take a cargo ship to Abu Dhabi which would take six days, travelling 2,500 kilometers at a speed of around 15 kilometers an hour.
However, after arriving in the UAE, Eva and her friends were unable to leave the ship for an additional eight days, and needed a coronavirus test before being given a visa.
‘Even though we had docked at the port we weren’t allowed to leave the ship, not yet,’ she explained.
Showing footage filmed on her 12th day on the ship, Eva can be heard saying: ‘You can see the city behind me, it’s so close, it’s within arms reach.
As per the local law, the group had a coronavirus test which came back negative and meant they were able to leave the ship and enter the United Arab Emirates. Pictured, Eva on the cargo ship
‘The other day someone on Instagram sent me a picture, a video of our boat from one of those buildings we’re that close.
‘We’re not leaving the boat, we’re still here. Honestly, I think this is a quarantine. I’m kind of keen to just get back home you know.’
As per the local law, the group had a coronavirus test which came back negative and meant they were able to leave the ship and enter the United Arab Emirates.
A further clip from the trip shows Eva explaining: ‘I’ve got the visa. After exactly 14 days after a coronavirus test, we’re able to go into Abu Dhabi as an evacuation measure and from here, I’ll be flying back home.’
Eva is now at home in Poland, pictured, where she continues to post about travels
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