What to do in "Elfenland", if stuck in the desert
Are you playing with the Caravan rules?  From the rulebook:


  If a player cannot play the Travel
  Card(s) required by the type of
  transportation, he can play any three
  Travel Cards (including Raft Travel
  Cards) instead. This move is called a
  “Caravan”. “Caravans” only move on
  roads that provide a type of
  transportation. Caravans do not travel
  on rivers and lakes. If there is an
  Obstacle on the road, the player must
  play any four instead of three Travel
  Cards.


As I understand it, Elfenroads did NOT have this rule, making it easier to get stranded.  Apparently some people hate the Caravan rule because it means players don't have to be supremely careful not to get themselves stuck any more...