It’s all too easy to land in the Canary Islands and, feeling  the sun on your face and the  breeze in your hair, scurry straight to an idyllic beach resort or quiet rural retreat, not to be heard from again until the morning of your flight out. Yet while we’re sunbathing, swimming, sailing, snorkelling and strolling, the ‘real’ Canaries are chugging along in the background...
Construction is strong in the archipelago; proof of that is the 2.5 million tons of concrete that’s poured annually into hotels, homes and businesses. Agriculture is still alive and well; thousands of Canarios work as farmers, and their growing number of crops  are responsible for tasty fruits and veggies and for the often-photographed, well-tended landscapes. New crops such as grapes, avocados, tropical fruits and flowers are contributing to a modern farming miniboom. The fishing industry is also still strong.