The path ended at the edge of an almond grove, and there at the far end we saw what remained of the hermitage. Passing among the trees we noticed that some of them already bore their first flowers, as white as the snow that this year has yet to fall.

The wizened tree that stood snug against the north-facing walls must surely have taken root long after the stone was raised.

Circling the ruins we found a way into what would have been the nave.

Once inside, we saw that the ribs of the carcass had been picked clean by time…

…but at the eastern end the curve of the apse was still distinct.

As we entered the recess where the altar would once have stood, we glimpsed a ghostly visage in a niche, a reminder that this was a place where people once dwelt.