Remote island life has become the new normal for the 29-year-old, an adventure YouTuber and travel documentary host from Poland.

While the rest of the world stays inside, Zu Beck, who grew her social media following to over 1 million with her travel vlogs on off-the-beaten path destinations like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Syria

Eva zu Beck has spent the last two months wild camping on deserted white-sand beaches, fishing for grouper in the open ocean and climbing 10 story-high sand dunes as she waits out the pandemic on one of the world's most isolated islands.

The only catch? She has no idea when she'll be able to leave.

A marathon stay on a desert island

Zu Beck arrived on Socotra -- an island with an ecosystem so unique it's often referred to as the "Galapagos of the Indian Ocean" -- on a weekly commercial flight from Cairo on March 11.

The travel vlogger, along with 40 other international tourists, arrived that day to take part in Socotra's first-ever marathon event and was due to stay for two weeks.

Unbeknownst to Zu Beck and her fellow marathon runners, however, the world was quickly shutting down due to the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus.

On March 15, after she and the other participants had completed the race, Socotri officials announced that the island would be closing its borders, and that the marathon runners should return home as soon as possible.

"We were woken up in the middle of the night in our tents," says Zu Beck, "and told that we should make our way to the airport immediately."

She was faced with a difficult decision: should she leave Socotra, and risk contracting the virus on her 5,000 kilometer journey back to Europe? Or should she stay in paradise, and accept the possibility of being stuck on a desert island for the foreseeable future?

Zu Beck knew almost immediately what her decision was. "I have so much love for the island," she says. "I'd visited last year and I swore I'd return one day for an extended stay. I took what was happening as a sign."

With permission from Socotri officials, Zu Beck and four other tourists decided to stay.

The rest, including Zu Beck's Canadian boyfriend, returned to Cairo on the last flight out of Socotra.

She says she didn't realize how serious the coronavirus outbreak was when she arrived in March, and medical screening upon entry reassured her that she wasn't introducing the virus.

But not everyone agrees with Zu Beck's decision to visit a remote and potentially vulnerable island as the pandemic took hold.

Since this story published early on May 19, Zu Beck has heard from a number of critics via social media through the campaign #Respect_Socotra, who argue that her presence is endangering the local community.

In a May 19 Instagram post, she said that the situation in Socotra has evolved.

"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," she said.

"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," Zu Beck wrote in the post.

Local hospitality makes an extended stay possible

With the last flight gone and with no signs of borders reopening, Zu Beck settled right into island life in mid-March.

"Life on Socotra is slow," she says. "I spend most days outside reading a book, writing in my journal or hiking in the mountains."

While Socotra's most comfortable hotels are in the capital, Hadibu, she spent much of her first two months wild camping or renting basic guest rooms from local goat-herder families in Socotra's less populated rural villages, only returning to Hadibu for Wi-Fi, laundry services and electricity to charge her devices.

"Hadibu is chaotic and noisy," says Zu Beck. "I prefer to be out in nature and living alongside rural communities, who have been kind enough to welcome me into their homes."

Local hospitality has allowed her to keep costs down while living in Socotra, a destination which, due to its remote location and lack of tourist infrastructure, is notoriously expensive to visit.

"There's a code of hospitality in Socotra called Karam," she says. "It dictates that guests should be welcomed unconditionally, so traditional hosts are very reluctant to take money from guests."

Despite this, Zu Beck says she insists that her hosts accept $150-200 per month to cover her food and accommodation.