Spanish cyclist stranded in Tripura finally gets a train to Delhi

Agartala: After spending more than two months in Tripura, around 20,00 km away from home in the Canary Islands, Spanish citizen Yesenia Herrera Febles has finally started her journey back to her country. She boarded the Agartala-Delhi special train on Monday and hopes to take a flight from there.

Yesenia has been cycling for three years and covered 20,000 km from her home in the Canary Islands to finally get stuck in Tripura due to the nationwide lockdown. A nurse by profession, she says she is cycling around the world to understand south Asian culture.

Yesenia has cycled through 18 European and Asian countries. She entered into Tripura through Agartala integrated check post between India-Bangladesh on March 9. After spending five days in Agartala, she started cycling towards Mizoram to enter Mayanmar, but was stopped by the Tripura police in Kanchanpur sub-division on March 16.

“When I reached Tripura-Mizoram border after cycling for three days, I was stopped by the Tripura police and was asked to return back and get myself tested. They sent me back to quarantine for 14 days in Agartala even though I had no symptoms”, Yesenia told EastMojo.

At the government facility quarantine, Yesenia met with three other cyclists– Clifin J Fancis, Dona Ana Jacob and Haseeb Ahsan from Kerala who were also placed under quarantine following the outbreak.

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The trio from Kerala had entered into Tripura on their bicycles to reach Japan via Myanmar from Mizoram.

All three professional working in multinational companies had quit their jobs to watch the Tokyo Olympics in Japan. They started cycling from Kerala to reach Japan in time for the sporting spectacle, which has been postponed indefinitely.

“After being discharged from the quarantine centre, Yesenia shifted to a youth hostel while the trio shifted to Asha Holy Cross and Missionaries of Charity, in outskirts of the city”, Dona Ana Jacob said.

“I booked a room at the Bhagat Singh Youth hostel after being released from quarantine but a day after the government converted the hostel into COVID care centre with positive patients. So, I was once again in some way quarantined”, Yesenia said.

Yesenia then got in touch with Father Paul Pudusery who welcomed her at the Asha Holy Cross Charity providing her shelter and food.

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“The centre was also designated as a COVID care centre, however, nobody turned up here. They have worked with us in our charity work distributing food and masks among the needy across the state”, said Father Pudusery

Father Paul has been working in Tripura for close to three decades helping the needy through his charity Asha Holycross in Agartala.

The Charity has so far distributed more than 20,000 face masks in the far-flung areas along with free rations and essential commodities.

After spending more than 78 days in Tripura, Yesenia finally boarded a train to Delhi from where she will be evacuated to Madrid by a special flight on May 30.

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The three cyclists from Kerala will also head back to their state. Japan can wait for now.