Juan Sala – underwater scientist and film-maker!

Juan Sala – underwater scientist and film-maker!

When Juan Sala was young, he lived with his family just five minutes from a quiet beach in the south of Spain. He spent all day in his summer holidays swimming and snorkelling there. He loved watching television programmes about underwater adventurers in the evenings. Even then, he dreamed of filming and studying unusual fish and other interesting creatures under the sea. But he didn’t actually begin to do that until he was in his twenties.

Juan describes a normal work day on his 45-metre boat: ‘I get up before everyone else. I have breakfast and jump in the sea as soon as I can. I usually work underwater three or four times a day. I collect and film anything that looks interesting.’

‘After that, I make notes about my work on my laptop and have a meal. After dinner, I’m usually so tired I immediately go to bed. My friends sometimes invite me to go to a party, but I’m always asleep by the time the fun starts.’

‘I work hard, but I don’t need holidays. I have such fun every day! My friends often say that they would like to have a job like mine. They need to pay a lot of money to spend their holiday in interesting places, but they don’t get the chance to see so many unusual creatures.’

Juan is planning to do some underwater filming in the Queensmen Islands soon. ‘I’ve never visited those islands, but I know a lot about them,’ he says. ‘I’ve always wanted to go there. I’d like to study the strange plants and creatures that live underwater in that part of the world. It’ll be a very exciting project!’