I’m just back from a guided walking tour of Morocco. Two pieces of advice: Bring a set of collapsible trekking poles and spend a little pre-trip time in the gym and/or the trail training your heart and leg muscles, and breaking in your shoes.

Not all walking tours are strolls in the park. This one had us walking up to 10 miles a day in uneven and rocky terrain. Despite being the youngest participant, I was consistently bringing up the rear. (Unlike me, my fellow trekkers hadn’t been desk-bound and had prepared adequately.)

Nevertheless, when I wasn’t breathless from navigating the terrain, the multi-dimensional experience took my breath away. The sensory inputs were dialed up to the max, whether we were in a teeming bazaar, ascending the Atlas mountains with the falcons, sleeping in a storybook castle, or perched atop a stack of folded rugs sipping tea with a carpet seller.