Last week in Lanzarote and La Graciosa before a vacation in Israel

Another week with the lovely Shai and Eliana!

Spoilers already in the title; In two days we say goodbye to Ester, for five days in Madrid on the way to a long first visit back home.
At the beginning of the week, we went to two "must-visit" tours for the Lanzarote tourists: Hameo del Aqua, and the caves. The two sites are very close to each other, very touristy, and are associated with the same volcanic phenomenon: an outer lava layer that hardens, beneath which lava continues to flow to the sea. This phenomenon occurred when the Corona volcano I mentioned in the previous post erupted, flowed into the sea, forming a 7-kilometer tube.
Hamao del Aqua - the point of exit to the water. The site was designed by the talented architect mentioned in the previous post in the context of the cactus garden. This time, he used the volcanic phenomenon of caves opening into the sea, creating spaces of restaurants, a garden, water pools (I think mostly natural), and an impressive auditorium. Everything is in good taste, very special and definitely worth a visit. If you want to complete the experience with dinner and a concert, you need to book at least a month in advance. We hope to experience it next time we get to Lanzarote.
Pictures from the visit in Hameo:

Even the chairs in the restaurant are designed for my taste

A bar with volcano seats

A huge lampshade in the auditorium

Auditorium

From there, we continued to the caves, a quarter of an hour walk. In the queues of visitors ... so shy away of these places. On the other hand, the queue is due to the fact that the visit to the caves is guided in small groups, in English or Spanish. A walk of about a kilometer inside the tube, beautifully lit, shades of minerals, it seems to me that despite the crowd its worth a visit:

The rest of the last week we spent on a small and charming island north of Lanzarote 5 hours sailing distance. This is an island that most sailors skip, on their way to cross the ocean to the Caribbean, and it's a shame ... charming in its simplicity and the rugged preservation of its nature. The mooring is limited to two places, one in the marina and the other on an anchorage in the bay on the southwest side. Both places require pre-coordination to regulate the number of boats arriving, rather than creating a load on the small place. We of course chose to be on anchor. Miss sailing and mooring in the bays ...
We waited for a suitable time window to go there, with Shye and Eliana still with us. Since the constant wind that blows in this area comes from the north, one must wait for a window where the sea is calm and the wind drops significantly or slightly changes direction, otherwise it is almost impossible to sail north, against the wind. After some deliberation, we left on Wednesday, before Shye and Eliana fly back home on Sunday.
The island itself, very reminiscent of the Sinai coast, before being spoiled by a million huts, strips of white virgin sand, exposed mountains, one village with small white houses, its sandy (unpaved) streets, few simple accommodations in the village, not huge restaurants, one pharmacy, diving club, off-road bike rental shops. There is no car on the island, except for SUVs that go out with hikers (you can't rent, and that's a good thing). It is possible to get there by boat, like us, or by ferry from Lanzarote. 
We spent three days on the island with Shye and Eliana, to whom we said goodbye the evening before they returned to Israel. They boarded a ferry back to Lanzarote, last night slept with Odi at the Marina Lanzarote (was with us for a few days in Graciosa), and from there early in the morning flew back home.
We stayed a few more days on the island, swimming, resting, a day of off-road biking, and a leisurely cruise on the wind back to Marina Lanzarote. Unfortunately the neighbors are no longer the pirates, who are in the midst of a research cruise. At least Odi's still around, until the next day when he travels to Israel. Nice to have a kind of "family" here.
Trying to limit the number of photos from La Graciosa ....

Eliana is playing with the wind while sailing

Same spot as the picture above

Same spot as the picture above

I sailed with Odi on his boat a few hours after Udi

Udi brings me home from Odi's boat

Going down to Odi's racing dinghy

 A 15-minute quick cruise from the bay to the city

First visit in town

Shye and Eliana are having fun on the beach

Climb the mountain above our bay to watch the sunset:

Bidding farewell to Shye and Eliana 😢

At Graciosa town there are no roads!

A restaurant in La Graciosa that is worth knowing.
The bakery on the island is good!

Riding on a mountain bike. 

From the city in the southern part to the coast in the northeastern part, the open ocean ...

A time of low tide. In the water that accumulates in the cracks of basalt, minnows and crabs remain waiting to rise ...

The forces of Nature

The beginning of the tide that occurs in minutes

Dorada while sailing for dinner with Odi at the marina

In two days, Ester will be locked up and we return to vacation in Israel of about a month. The impending visit intensifies the longing, and the conversations with the children in Israel become more emotional ...
We need to pack Ester (without getting out of the water!), Pack some clothes, and get ready for a few days stay in Madrid we have not yet visited. Hope there will not be too big a shock, after three months we have not seen a big city ...
I like the idea that the boat is life, and returning to Israel is the vacation ... We do not yet know how long we will stay, of course the ticket is one way ...
Hope we can see many of you!
Good days, a hug and a longing for everyone

North par of Lanzarote
To the north La Graciosa

 La Graciosa