Drew two cards on ruins, Sandstorm and a enemy spirit. Encounter sandstorm (1) first. Turn space into desert. Fight spirit (3), win. Do I then lose a life on the desert I now find myself in and draw another card, or is it just desert next time someone lands there? Thanks as always.

Hello,

the space was a Ruins space when you landed there and drew 2 cards. This was your encounter for that turn. If a space changes while you are there because of a Terrain Card, it doesn't matter; you're not going to encounter it again during the same turn, so the new space text cannot apply until someone lands there again.

Agreed...

Thank you. This reminds me of another question. When a card you land on teleports you to another space, do ypu encounter that space also, or just land there and end your turn?

In that case you continue your turn and encounter the new space.

If you draw Temple in Flames then Mystic Portal, and the latter results in a teleport to the Temple, in that case you won't be able to teleport because the Temple is not there anymore. It's a situation where terrain cards change the normal course of play.