The view from camp on the side of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
If you’ve ever had the chance to spend an extended period of time in another culture, you likely know the big difference between traveling and going on vacation.
In many ways, it’s less about where you go or what pictures you take, and more about the interactions and the people who challenge your perspective. The travels and experiences of three local men even inspired a shared business endeavor.
Exploring with Talmage
“It’s not about extreme sports, or having a cool picture from somewhere. It really is more about the little moments,” says experienced traveler and Grandview Heights native Scott Talmage. “My philosophy is that there is a big difference between vacation and travel. Vacation is when you remove problems and place yourself in a comfortable environment, while travel is when you remove comfort from your environment and face the problems that arise as a result.”
Having climbed several of the world’s tallest mountains on five different continents, Talmage is no stranger to breaking out of his comfort zone. To call him a traveler would be an understatement. Anyone who drives the nearly 12,000 miles from Ohio to the northern tip of Alaska and all the way back down to the southern tip of Panama deserves the title of explorer.
“I (with my now wife) drove my pickup truck from Ohio to the end of the road in Deadhorse, Alaska, then turned around and drove to the end of the road at the Darien Gap in Panama,” says Talmage.
Meghan and Scott Talmage mount up and get ready to cross into Chile from Argentina by horseback.
He has also trekked in Patagonia, to the ruins of Machu Picchu and through the jungle for three days to the lost Mayan ruins in Central America. Talmage has tasted wine in Chile and Argentina, tubed through caves in Guatemala, and crossed the Andes Mountains on horseback via the same route Charles Darwin used from Argentina to Chile.
“I’ve ridden my motorcycle through the Badlands and the entire Blue Ridge Parkway. I’ve solo hiked 500 miles on the Continental Divide Trail in Colorado,” says Talmage.
Talmage isn’t the only local with an adventurous spirit. Another Columbus native, Oliver Convertini, has seen his fair share of the world, too.
Flying with Convertini
Convertini had the chance to start tackling his bucket list from an early age, “whether it was living on a sailboat in the Bahamas for a month before leaving for the military or successfully not dying while participating in the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain,” he says.
He credits his single greatest adventure to the time he spent in the U.S. Air Force. Convertini was able to travel to eight different states and 10 countries while serving as a combat aviator.
“It exposed me to so many diverse cultures and people that I don’t think anything else could have,” says Convertini. “It better prepared me for the rest of my life. Or, rather, prepared me to live the rest of my life the best way that I could. It’s the collective experience of my time abroad that inspired my desire to explore my own culture and heritage, and truly appreciate what the word ‘community’ means to me.”
With Italian, Spanish and Portuguese heritage, Convertini is passionate about his culture. He enjoys many things that are rooted in said cultures.
“I enjoy soccer, good food, better libation and an uncanny ability to be five minutes late to everything,” says Convertini, “but there is a single phrase that I’ve taken with me that is an old Italian saying, ‘la dolce far niente,’ which means ‘the sweetness of doing nothing.’ Despite its quite literal lazy inference, it actually speaks to the importance of just slowing down the world around you and enjoying life.”
This is a business that allows us to bring all of what makes each culture interesting, intriguing and, frankly, fascinating together through one vehicle: Endeavor.
Just as Convertini understands the importance of slowing down and Talmage enjoys the little moments that inspire us, Hernando Posada knows how to bring it all together.
Culminating with Posada
Posada didn’t grow up in Ohio. In fact, he was born in Boston to parents who emigrated from Colombia. Growing up, his family would often make trips to Colombia to visit with relatives.
“Both of my parents came from large families, with Mom having 14 brothers and sisters. We would regularly travel to Colombia to visit my relatives, and my sister and I have always been very well-rooted in our Latin heritage,” says Posada.
With a strong connection to his family and a long list of past adventures, he has a hard time choosing a favorite. However, there is one trip that stands out in Posada’s mind. Adventuring through the Peruvian Amazon with his father and uncle, Posada explored the ruins of Machu Picchu.
“I’ve been so lucky to have experienced many travel adventures around the world, but I think at the top of my list is the trip I took with my dad and uncle to Peru,” says Posada. “That trip in particular brings back so many great memories with two of the people that I admire most in my life together in several locations that are on many people’s bucket lists.”
Posada’s passion for his culture complements the fervor of fellow travelers Talmage and Convertini. So well, in fact, that the three launched Endeavor Brewing Co., located at 909 W. Fifth Ave., in hopes of showcasing all of their cultural interests and experiences through craft brewing.
“The world, its nations and in particular its people, their culture, history, art, business methods, similarities and differences have always fascinated me,” says Posada. “This is a business that allows us to bring all of what makes each culture interesting, intriguing and, frankly, fascinating together through one vehicle: Endeavor.”
Jenny Wise is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at jwise@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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