Cave rescue \u2014 training skilled teams to assist in emergencies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nCaving was one of the first passions my wife and I dove into together, right alongside bicycling and search and rescue. Over the years, we\u2019ve done it all, from conservation to cave rescue, but the things that stand out the most are the trips involving exploration and mapping.<\/p>\n
As members, my wife and I have experienced all of these facets of caving. But you may have noticed that I deliberately left one item off that list: recreation. That\u2019s because there\u2019s a world of difference between a recreational thrill and true exploration. Most recreational cavers are thrill-seekers looking for an adrenaline hit. Adrenaline is produced when the brain perceives danger or stress, usually meaning someone has gotten themselves into trouble. But I\u2019ll save the topic of adrenaline for another article.<\/p>\n
Thrill seekers tend to get themselves into trouble. In the insuring medical emergency, formations are broken, rare lifeforms destroyed and rescue teams are left scrambling to save the day. Caves are too ancient, too fragile and too unforgiving to treat them like an amusement park ride.<\/p>\n
Caving is not an activity for the faint of heart. It requires a deep respect for the underground environment and a commitment to preserving its delicate balance. Unlike thrill-seekers who might damage formations and disrupt the ecosystem, we approach caving with a sense of reverence and responsibility.<\/p>\n
Exploration is something altogether different. For me, exploration is the most captivating aspect of caving. It\u2019s the thrill of locating a passage no human has ever seen before or finding a cave that no one knew existed. Think of it this way: you are entering a world millions of years old, untrodden by human feet. It\u2019s like Neil Armstrong setting foot on the Moon, with the knowledge that he is the first person to ever walk there. Caves don\u2019t get as much coverage as the Moon landings, but sometimes getting through them is equally challenging.<\/p>\n
Unlike the surface of the Moon or a remote mountain peak, caves don\u2019t come with maps. You can\u2019t just pick up a guidebook to an unexplored cave system. While National Geographic<\/em> loves to talk about remote caves, they follow us<\/em> into them. Cavers have to make their own maps and that can be an adventure in itself. That curve in the passage might lead to a dead end or it might open into ten miles of borehole. More likely, though, it\u2019s hiding a series of nasty narrow squeezes, at least one of which is tighter than what my chest can manage.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2025-09-03-c1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Recently I took part in an expedition into a commercial cave that has been open to the public for more than a century. It has a lot of mapped passage and multiple commercial tour routes and while most of the cave\u2019s passages are well-traveled, some remain closed and mysterious and there are still leads that remain unexplored. Our target was one such lead, a tight squeeze noted on the map, where moving air hinted at more cave beyond. In caving, a \u201cbreathing\u201d passage is a sign of a barometric pressure difference, signaling hidden chambers. This means the cave \u201cbreathes\u201d with the outside world, a potential hint of something interesting beyond.<\/p>\n
Our team of six set out loaded with gear. Going into the unknown means being ready for anything: gear to get you in and gear to get you back out, equipment for potential research, the readiness not to return the same day and everything needed to survey along the way.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2025-09-03-c3.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The squeeze was the kind where you decide which way you want your head to be facing and slide in, pulling yourself with your fingers and pushing with the toes of your boots, hoping not to hit an obstacle that will end your trip. Luck was with us. The squeeze opened into a small room, followed by another squeeze and another. The squeezes tested our resolve and physical limits. It was a challenging task, but one that allowed me to appreciate the spirit of exploration.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2025-09-03-c2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
A horizontal squeeze, as icky as it sounds, is infinitely preferable to a vertical slot. In a vertical slot, you\u2019re inadvertently lying on one of your arms or pushing it ahead of you like an awkwardly placed tree branch that does nothing to help.<\/p>\n
But we had cave! New cave! Our travel was impeded not just by the series of annoying squeezes, but also by the need to map as we went. It\u2019s an unspoken code in the exploration world: don\u2019t \u201cscoop\u201d passage. Map it and leave what you couldn\u2019t get to for someone else to explore.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2025-09-03-c4.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Just after midnight came the real test: a vertical crack so narrow that each inhale wedged you tighter, each exhale freed you to move. I want to say it\u2019s sexy, but my washing machine would never agree. A lot of caving trips send you home looking like you\u2019ve been wrestling pigs in the mud. Not elegant, not comfortable, certainly not laundry-friendly, but that\u2019s caving.<\/p>\n
My job on this trip was surveying. I was \u201clead tape\u201d or \u201cback tape\u201d depending on who was leapfrogging whom. Surveying requires you to be detail-oriented. You have to set good survey points that are in useful locations and won\u2019t be destroyed by time or clumsy cavers. And you have to be dead-on for your azimuth and inclination readings or your map will be no better than a five-year-old\u2019s crayon drawing.<\/p>\n
We worked late into the night, carefully logging a few hundred feet of new passage with a few small rooms and a lot of squeezes. No breathtaking formations, just aragonite dustings and moonmilk, basic sedimentary deposits. It was a tough night, but a night well spent. The satisfaction was immense. At the end of the trip, as we gathered around the draft map, our sketcher (cartographer) scrawled a note in the margin: \u201cThere be dragons here\u201d<\/em>, a nod to the medieval cartographers who marked uncharted territories with mythical creatures. It was a fitting metaphor for our own quest, which had taken us into the unknown and pushed us to our limits.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2025-09-03-dragons-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
As I looked at the map, I couldn\u2019t help but feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. We had uncovered new passage, documented our findings and contributed to the ever-growing body of knowledge about this incredible cave system.<\/p>\n
Caving is not just an adventure. It\u2019s a journey of discovery, a test of physical and mental endurance and a chance to connect with the natural world in a unique way. It\u2019s a world that requires patience, respect and a willingness to push beyond your comfort zones.<\/p>\n
For those who are drawn to the underground realm, there\u2019s no shortage of excitement and challenge. Whether you\u2019re a seasoned caver or just starting out, the world of caving has something to offer. So, if you\u2019re ready to embark on an odyssey of discovery, join us in the underground world of caves. Just be prepared to get a little dirty. I doubt my washing machine will ever forgive me, but I wouldn\u2019t trade these muddy, exhausting nights underground for anything.<\/p>\n
Exploration underground is a quest, as much about patience and persistence as bravery, every bit as mythic as chasing dragons. Because sometimes, the real adventure isn\u2019t in slaying dragons. It\u2019s in finding where they live.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2025-09-03-c5.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Among the many hats that I wear, one of my favorites is a caving helmet. For many years my wife and I have been members of the National Speleological Society, an organization dedicated to the study, exploration and conservation of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[183],"tags":[186,184,189,185,187,188,190],"class_list":["post-213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","tag-adventure","tag-caving","tag-conservation","tag-exploration","tag-national-speleological-society","tag-nature","tag-underground"],"yoast_head":"\nThere Be Dragons Here: The Secrets of the Deep - Tales of Many Things<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"There Be Dragons Here: The Secrets of the Deep - Tales of Many Things\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Among the many hats that I wear, one of my favorites is a caving helmet. For many years my wife and I have been members of the National Speleological Society, an organization dedicated to the study, exploration and conservation of … Continue reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tales of Many Things\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-03T10:15:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2025-09-03-c1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"605\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"453\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"The Narrator\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"The Narrator\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/03\\\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/03\\\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"The Narrator\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b1d4db827e45105fa1ed7c9fef0740b7\"},\"headline\":\"There Be Dragons Here: The Secrets of the Deep\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-03T10:15:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/03\\\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1387,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/03\\\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/2025-09-03-c1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"adventure\",\"caving\",\"conservation\",\"exploration\",\"National Speleological Society\",\"nature\",\"underground\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Adventure\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/03\\\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/03\\\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/03\\\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\\\/\",\"name\":\"There Be Dragons Here: The Secrets of the Deep - Tales of Many Things\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/03\\\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/03\\\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/2025-09-03-c1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-03T10:15:42+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/03\\\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/03\\\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/03\\\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/2025-09-03-c1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/2025-09-03-c1.jpg\",\"width\":605,\"height\":453},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/03\\\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"There Be Dragons Here: The Secrets of the Deep\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tales of Many Things\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Tales of Many Things\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/ToMT.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/ToMT.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":1024,\"caption\":\"Tales of Many Things\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b1d4db827e45105fa1ed7c9fef0740b7\",\"name\":\"The Narrator\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2bb8c64137cfce48ae857e269ef98f3cc9da662b1edcaeb0038fd07b44173bf7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2bb8c64137cfce48ae857e269ef98f3cc9da662b1edcaeb0038fd07b44173bf7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2bb8c64137cfce48ae857e269ef98f3cc9da662b1edcaeb0038fd07b44173bf7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"The Narrator\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talesofmanythings.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/the-narrator\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"There Be Dragons Here: The Secrets of the Deep - Tales of Many Things","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"There Be Dragons Here: The Secrets of the Deep - Tales of Many Things","og_description":"Among the many hats that I wear, one of my favorites is a caving helmet. For many years my wife and I have been members of the National Speleological Society, an organization dedicated to the study, exploration and conservation of … Continue reading →","og_url":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\/","og_site_name":"Tales of Many Things","article_published_time":"2025-09-03T10:15:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":605,"height":453,"url":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2025-09-03-c1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"The Narrator","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"The Narrator","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\/"},"author":{"name":"The Narrator","@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b1d4db827e45105fa1ed7c9fef0740b7"},"headline":"There Be Dragons Here: The Secrets of the Deep","datePublished":"2025-09-03T10:15:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\/"},"wordCount":1387,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2025-09-03-c1.jpg","keywords":["adventure","caving","conservation","exploration","National Speleological Society","nature","underground"],"articleSection":["Adventure"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\/","url":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\/","name":"There Be Dragons Here: The Secrets of the Deep - Tales of Many Things","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2025-09-03-c1.jpg","datePublished":"2025-09-03T10:15:42+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2025-09-03-c1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2025-09-03-c1.jpg","width":605,"height":453},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/there-be-dragons-here-the-secrets-of-the-deep\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"There Be Dragons Here: The Secrets of the Deep"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/","name":"Tales of Many Things","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Tales of Many Things","url":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ToMT.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ToMT.jpg","width":1024,"height":1024,"caption":"Tales of Many Things"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b1d4db827e45105fa1ed7c9fef0740b7","name":"The Narrator","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2bb8c64137cfce48ae857e269ef98f3cc9da662b1edcaeb0038fd07b44173bf7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2bb8c64137cfce48ae857e269ef98f3cc9da662b1edcaeb0038fd07b44173bf7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2bb8c64137cfce48ae857e269ef98f3cc9da662b1edcaeb0038fd07b44173bf7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"The Narrator"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog"],"url":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/author\/the-narrator\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgsIo5-3r","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":222,"href":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213\/revisions\/222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talesofmanythings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}