A bit further on there's a dam and a large canal steering most of the water from the river. He assumes it's an irrigation canal--quite an engineering feat as it tunnels right through the mountain sometimes. Turns out this canal leads to a small hydraulic station where it pours right back into the river.
 
Seems like an enormous amount of work just to generate a little electricity ...
 
Not much luck finding food along the way today but here in Ayrum he does find a little general store where he at least can find some biscuits and yoghurt.
 
Finally the mountains get shorter and the canyon wider and narrower until finally it becomes clear that the Debed Canyon is coming to an end. It's ben an amazing journey with hardly a boring moment the entire stretch. And walking this gorge has given him a whole different perspective on Armenia.
 
He's in a bit of a hurry, but he feels for this day to be complete: he needs to take one last swim in the river. So he finds a discreet spot and plunges into the water. Swimming to the other side and back seems like a perfectly normal thing to do. Nice and refreshing.
 
But then, a hundred meters further he notices that a footbridge across the river is locked shut and I suddenly realizes: here the river is the border between Armenia and Georgia--and he just crossed illegally into Georgia and back!
 
Good thing it wasn't Iran, or this story could've ended quite differently!