ABOUT THE FAMILY

“Get away from the tourist trail, come see where we live and enjoy the nature. You’ll experience the beauty of Colombian people, the friendly finca lifestyle, and some Colombian adventures.” - Isa, Tim and the family

Situated in one of the most biodiverse landscapes of Colombia, we found our forever home; Donkey Sunrise near to the beautiful town of La Union, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Let us introduce ourselves and let you know how we ended up in this area.

"If I would describe Donkey Sunrise in one word, it would be: HEART!"

TIM

Hola! I am Tim. Born and raised in The Netherlands but the past 15 years I’ve spent more time on the road learning about new cultures, countries, people and of course - chasing adventures with an open mind and heart.

Before coming to Colombia and opening up this hostel and tour company, I worked for a company in sales/marketing for 6 years. I learned a lot, but it was not the kind of life I wanted to live. During this time, I had a couple of travels in South and Central America and fell in LOVE with Colombia, the friendly faces and the vibrant culture! With some help from my beloved friends and family, I made the decision... I am going on this adventure, without any intention of returning soon!

Fast forward to now, I live in Colombia and married Isa in 2022! We are restarting our business after the pandemic, now with the whole family.

For me, this adventure is about sharing memories and making people smile!

My motto: A day without laughter is a day wasted.

ISA

Hola!! I am Isa and I´m from Venezuela. After studying to be a Chemical engineer, I left Venezuela in 2017 due to the horrible social and economic crisis. I arrived in Colombia with many hopes and dreams.

I met Tim (the love of my life ☺️) when I was working in Medellin. Through his eyes, I learned to love Colombia's culture and nature! Since then we have shared the dream of seeing Donkey Sunrise grow, have as much fun as possible, and hope to make many people happy.

ELEAZAR

I am a Venezuelan university professor, a lover of nature, reading, and good cooking. I am hard-working and self-taught, cheerful, and persevering. I immigrated to Colombia due to the serious crisis that is plaguing our country, which did not allow us to live, only to survive. I am looking for a new direction and a new beginning in this great country.

AURA

I left Venezuela in search of new opportunities, as we all know, Venezuela is in crisis. In Colombia, I have the opportunity to work and live with a better quality of life. I love cooking and nature, and I like the people who visit us to feel good as if they are in their own homes. I am cheerful and optimistic, a lover of music and sports, and always ready to help. My motto: in the union is strength.

JORGE

Born and raised in the nearby historical town of Filandia, the gem of the coffee region, Jorge grew up working on coffee farms. We met him working in tourism, and got lucky when he needed a fresh start! Our do-it-all guy, he is a big part of keeping our facilities up and running, and shares our love for riding motorcycles. He does a mean bike detail, and is great to practice your Spanish with!

VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

Have a special skill, or can work with your hands? Love motorcycles and want to be part of building our community of adventure travelers? We are always looking for volunteers to join the Donkey Team, come stay a little longer and be part of creating the good vibes here at Donkey Sunrise!

3, 2, 1... Happy New Year🍾✨ well, almost

GOT USED GEAR?

Have some old lightly used protective gear laying around? Bring it in and get a discount at Donkey! Recycling and Sustainable practices benefit everyone. Help us build our rental catalogue by donating your old goods, and do a solid for the planet as well.

WHAT OUR GUESTS ARE SAYING

My friend and I are on an 11 month motorcycle journey from New Mexico, U.S. down through Central and South America. We stayed at a place in Filandia called Steelhorse for loads of overlanders and motorcyclists. Everybody there encouraged us to go and stay at Donkey Sunrise. We came for New Year's Eve and stayed about 2 weeks. The owners are incredibly friendly and helpful. Tim is from Netherlands and is great at riding motorcycles and dancing salsa. Jorge is a wonderful Colombian guy who lived in Connecticut U.S. for years he has amazing stories of his life and past work. Everyday was a blast I would go out exploring off road trails and mountain roads with Tim. He showed us some incredible views and muddy challenging roads. They also have bicycles to rent which is good for the mountains here. There's a KTM motorcycle for rent as well as 2 Royal Enfield and another dirtbike. There's a really nice swimming pool I used everyday, amazing outdoor showers, a slackline, and hammocks under trees and flowers. I rarely left to get food in the nearby town La Union because the food at Donkey Sunrise was so good. We had chicken curry, a traditional Colombian soup dish, barbecue grilled veggies and shish kebabs, burgers with fries, good fresh veggies and fruit juice some used from plants on the property. Bonita the puppy was the highlight of the stay she was only 3 months old and loved to play. We had so much fun with all the workaway volunteers as well. Germans, Dutch, British, Australian, Venezuelan, Colombian...lots of different skills and abilities. Highly recommend this place for anyone especially overlanders and motorcyclists. We hung out hammocks and tarps for sleeping at night under a shady roof and flowers and had great sleeps.

Lane Crockett,

USA