Costa Brava Maniacs is a father-and-daughter passion project started by Alex “Aribau” Ryabov and Katya Ryabova.

A long time resident of Begur and Barcelona, Alex was a historian, ethnographer, and the main driving force behind Costa Brava Maniacs. He wrote the original “Little Secrets of Barcelona” book and co-authored the guide to the Costa Brava with Katya. He passed away in 2023, leaving behind the legacy of never-ending exploration, curiosity and observation. His writing remains the core of Costa Brava Maniacs, carefully edited and updated by Katya to maintain currency.

Katya Ryabova is a freelance journalist, writer and research consultant. She spent her twenties living in and exploring Barcelona and the Costa Brava, and visits often to this day. She currently lives in Toronto, Canada.

Katya is the sole human responsible for maintaining and expanding Costa Brava Maniacs today. All of the content on the portal is carefully researched, written, and updated with no involvement of generative AI or LLM tools. Costa Brava Maniacs in its entirety is proudly genAI-free.