Difficulty:
Terrain:
Size: 
(Small)
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Parking available very close to the cache location.
There is no need to enter the fort to retrieve the cache.
Fortifications in the Canary Islands:
The history of castles and defensive toweres in the Canary Islands
began in the 15th century, when the kingdom of Castille conquered
the islands and they became a bastion against Berber (North
African), French and British pirates who threatened the coast
constantly.
The ancient Puerto de El Toston:
After the conquest, El Cotillo became a significant trading post
for archil, cereals and livestock. This berth went under the name
of Puerto del Roque since 1599. In 1626, it was named Puerto del
Toston, and by the middle of the 20th century, it became 'El
Cotillo', which is its present name.
The history of an emblematic tower:
The conqueror Jean de Bethancourt built the Castillo de Rico Roque
in the early years of colonisation, a fortification to protect the
ships in the harbour against the pirate attacks. The present tower
was built on the ruins of the original structure, and this
permission was given to the engineer Claudio de L'isle by The
General Captain of the Canary Islands. The building work started in
1700 under the domination of Torre de Ntra. Sra. Del Pilar y San
Miguel.
The building work:
The building is made of stone from a stone quarry close to El
Cotillo. It has a circular ground plant, a stone stair and a
drawbridge. There is a way down to the arsenal at the left of the
entry, and a way up to las losas, an area of level ground, at the
right. Three iron cannons defended the coast, and the tower could
provide accomodation for a garrison of 12 men.
La Torre de El Toston nowadays:
La Torre del Toston was declared an historic monument in 1949 and
it is an important element in the cultural heritage of the island
of Fuerte Ventura. Nowadays, it has turned into a space for history
and culture promotion for the population of Fuerte Ventura. It
hosts contemporary art exhibitions, aswell as a tourist office and
a viewpoint over the white sand beaches of El Cotillo, which is one
of the main tourism resorts in Fuerte Ventura.
Opening times:
Mon - Fri 08.00hrs to 15.00hrs
Sat - Sun 09.00hrs to 15.00hrs
Note - July 1st to September 30th, closes one hour before above
times.
Thank you to TrainSPOTer for
placing a micro cache in the caches
orginal hide on the 13th October 2009, cheers TM UK 
Thanks to Waltraud and to 'ettt' for the GERMAN translation
Near by cache Faro de Toston (visit link)
Maintained by Waltraud Breitfeld
3/11/09
Thank you surfski1 for placing
the micro cache back inposition for us, please take care NOT to be
seen taking or replacing the cache by muggles, thank you.
5/5/10
Message from orangetigerprawn
We have about 50 similar towers built along the east and south
coasts of Ireland although they are not quite as old, only about
200 years. They were built by the British to watch and protect
against Frence invasion. They are called Martello Towers inspired
by the round fortress at Mortella Point in Corsica.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
180° sebz gur ragenapr. Va jnyy, ybj gb gur tebhaq.
(frr Fcbvyre)
