The Corinth Canal cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth that separates the Peloponnese peninsula from the Greek mainland. Several ancient rulers considered projects like the canal (Nero in 65 AD started an attempt), but the actual completion wasn't until 1893 benefiting from the invention of dynamite. It was a thrilling passage though it, one way, with rock walls almost 300 feet high with only 15ft of clearance on each side of our ship, steered by a local pilot and pulled by a local tug. Residents near the end gathered on bridges and piers to cheer us on.