Cartagena, Colombia is an extremely droneworthy and drone-friendly destination.
I'm living and working in Medellin for the month of May, and brought my Mini 2 on the chance I'd get some flying opportunities. I got a few days off and visited Cartagena this weekend. I love the old walled part of the city called Amurallada.
I was at a small park beside the wall and asked two cops of the Policia Nacional if I could fly a drone. Sure, it's ok. Here and up on the wall. The beach too. If there were any limits, they didn't indicate any.
I flew to my hearts content and batteries' exhaustion. I stopped for a light afternoon snack on a balcony overlooking a square. The church doors opened and a wedding party poured out, along with a crew of photographers including a big Mavic. The operator took off and launched from within the public square.
Later, just after sunset I was at the Torre de Reloj (clock tower) and I got into a conversation with a policeman who turned out to be the Capitan of the Tourism Police for Cartagena. I told him I planned to come back to the square and fly in the morning. He said, you should fly now while it's a beautiful, lively, and crowded. I had one remaining battery with about 26% so I did a short flight. He hadn't seen the Mini2 and was impressed by the size. Capitan Sotelo said drone videos are good for tourism.
Capitan Sotelo pointed me in the direction of his favorite seafood restaurant. Returning to my hotel, I passed the square and sought him out to thank him for the recommendation and take a selfie. There was another Mini in the air at the time and the operator was wearing an iPad on his back showing a live feed of his flight. I'd never seen that before.
It's said a unit takes after its leader. All of my encounters with the Cartagena police proved to be friendly and pleasant. They are all tourism ambassadors, like their Capitan. I don't know about the rest of Colombia, but Cartagena is clean, safe, and friendly towards drones. You can fly almost anywhere in the walled city and the 16th and 17th century architecture is stunning.
I'm living and working in Medellin for the month of May, and brought my Mini 2 on the chance I'd get some flying opportunities. I got a few days off and visited Cartagena this weekend. I love the old walled part of the city called Amurallada.
I was at a small park beside the wall and asked two cops of the Policia Nacional if I could fly a drone. Sure, it's ok. Here and up on the wall. The beach too. If there were any limits, they didn't indicate any.
I flew to my hearts content and batteries' exhaustion. I stopped for a light afternoon snack on a balcony overlooking a square. The church doors opened and a wedding party poured out, along with a crew of photographers including a big Mavic. The operator took off and launched from within the public square.
Later, just after sunset I was at the Torre de Reloj (clock tower) and I got into a conversation with a policeman who turned out to be the Capitan of the Tourism Police for Cartagena. I told him I planned to come back to the square and fly in the morning. He said, you should fly now while it's a beautiful, lively, and crowded. I had one remaining battery with about 26% so I did a short flight. He hadn't seen the Mini2 and was impressed by the size. Capitan Sotelo said drone videos are good for tourism.
Capitan Sotelo pointed me in the direction of his favorite seafood restaurant. Returning to my hotel, I passed the square and sought him out to thank him for the recommendation and take a selfie. There was another Mini in the air at the time and the operator was wearing an iPad on his back showing a live feed of his flight. I'd never seen that before.
It's said a unit takes after its leader. All of my encounters with the Cartagena police proved to be friendly and pleasant. They are all tourism ambassadors, like their Capitan. I don't know about the rest of Colombia, but Cartagena is clean, safe, and friendly towards drones. You can fly almost anywhere in the walled city and the 16th and 17th century architecture is stunning.
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