Day 12, 80km:

In the morning we followed another river downhill. 

We picked up supplies at a town crowded with teenagers as it was the first

day of school. 
After this we climbed another huge pass in the mist and drizzle.

 There was increasing evidence of landslides on the road. On the descent

 I was stopped by a guy on a motorbike saying we couldn't pass the road

 ahead and suggesting a huge 3 day detour. We said we would like to see

 if we could pass before turning around. He took some convincing but

 eventually let us move on. It turns out the worst floods in 50 years

 hit this area less than a month ago. Over the next ridge the descent

 down a spectacularly beautiful valley was marred by the fact big chunks

 of the mountain (and road) had simply been washed away. In places a river

 now crossed the road and you could see water marks on the first floor of

 the houses that hadn't been buried with sediment and rocks.
The road was passable (tracks had been created to bypass the missing bits)

. People were still so friendly, waving and saying hello as we passed.

 The town at the bottom was relatively unscathed although pretty deserted

 (we think most people were still evacuated). 

We stayed at a lovely little family run guesthouse and had dinner

 in their noodle bar.