Castillo de El Toston Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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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.
23/9/12
Thank you DerJuwelier for placing a small cache in a new location after the old cache was muggled 
Please take care NOT to be seen taking or replacing the cache by muggles, thank you.
3/1/13
Thank you to Mangima for taking a spoiler photo for us 
Also NOTE there are small red packets filled with rat poison around and about, PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THEM!!
3/9/14
Thank you Encuentro for placing a new log in the cache
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
"Oruvaq n fgbar ng erne" (frr fcbvyre)