View the latest weather forecasts, maps, news and alerts on Yahoo Weather. Find local weather forecasts for Port-Etienne, Mauritania throughout the world ...

From Mauritania, they risk hundreds of miles of sea and howling winds to reach Spain’s Canary Islands. The route puts new strain on this port city of 177,000 people at the edge of the Sahara.

Some describe the 20-hour journey across 700km of desert as a "once in a lifetime experience" or a real life version of Frank Herbert's sci-fi epic Dune. READ MORE: Police wade through deep ...