First Dive...

The scenery surrounding the first dive location just past Mogren Beach was stunning. They went into the cavern in the center of the photo.

They saw a small lobster, fish and fireworms, which Ashlynn said were especially cool as you can see from this photo they took.

Temps were a bit chilly at 61°F (16°C) at a depth of 63 feet (19 meters)....

....but Ashlynn didn’t mind as she was just happy to be diving again.

Let’s Jump...

Ashlynn couldn’t resist jumping off the top of the dive boat.

Jimmy was more graceful as he dove into the water.

After diving, Ashlynn returned to her usual table to get to work. We were impressed by her dedication to studying. We learned in mid-August that all her hard work paid off as she got straight A’s!

Our Little Diver...

Ashlynn has always loved mermaids, so it’s always great to see her transform into one herself.

Of course, she doesn’t look anything like Ariel in that thick wetsuit, but she’s still a mermaid at heart.

Here is Jimmy getting help with his gear from the ship’s captain, the father of the divemaster that led their dives.

This was the first time that Ashlynn did a giant stride off of a boat as all her previous boat dives were from small Zodiacs.

Seeing Budva from a Boat...

One of the reasons we chose to stay in Budva was that they had a dive shop with several dive sites nearby. Since diving there required thick wetsuits, I decided to pass as I’m a tropics-only diver. Luckily I could go along on the dive boat as a passenger. 

As expected, the views along the way were beautiful.

Here’s our apartment building in the center....

 ....and here’s Old Budva.

Ashlynn was ecstatic as she always is as she’s about to go diving.

Dinner on the Beach...

When I rented the apartment in Budva, I assumed that we’d make ourselves breakfast each day and cook dinner several times. I was correct about breakfast, but entirely wrong about dinner as we loved the inexpensive food so much that we ate out for both lunch and dinner each day. On our first night, we ate along the beach and were entertained by this band on a boat on the nearby pier.

These photos were taken by our favorite waiter, who happened to be trying to go vegan. While I loved the grilled calamari, Ashlynn managed to find enough vegan food to keep her happy; as usual, Jimmy's willing to eat about anything so liked to mix it up and try new things.

Once the sun set, it did get a little chilly, but the restaurants provided blankets so we could stay and enjoy dessert.

A Late Afternoon Stroll...

The temperatures were perfect for our entire visit--not too hot and not too cold.

One late afternoon we took a stroll past the historic city to see it from the other side.

As you can see, Ashlynn is not nearly as graceful as this beautiful sculpture but she made a good effort to strike a pose. If you look very closely, you can see that a bride was having her photo taken on the dock in the background.

Little is known about the sculpture, including the name and whether she’s a dancer or gymnast. Some say it is in memory of a girl that drowned nearby. Others tell a tragic story of a young couple that were attacked by a shark.

At the end of the path was Mogen Beach, one of the nicest beaches in the area.

Budva Water...

From every angle, the views of the water surrounding Budva were stunning.

Every day, the owners of the colorful boats in the harbor tried talking us into taking a boat ride, but we had other plans to get us out on the water.

We were excited when we learned that this club had free entrance to their beautiful pool, but it was icy cold so not so enticing after all.

The beach itself was full of pebbles rather than smooth sand.

Ashlynn staked out this table every day at a casual beach cafe to do revision for her final week of exams.

Jimmy and I took over this beach bed near her where we enjoyed cocktails, grilled corn on the cob and a daily nap.

Being the responsible parents we are, we took Ashlynn late night clubbing twice. This was our favorite outdoor club with good music and cheap drinks; of course, it looked very different late at night with lots of crazy laser lights spinning around.

This club looked cool with its giant pirate ship, but after they tried ripping us off for some drinks, we didn’t go back.