I remember when my mom acquired a credit card. While I was in high school in the late 60’s, she showed the card to me. She was so excited. There was one catch. Since she had no credit history, the card was in dad’s name. She simply shared his account.

I am confident that the history of Portuguese women has been only recently been publicized. More than the Camino Frances, I walk on the Camino Portuguese through villages and towns that want us to remember the life of Portuguese women. Here are a few of the visual reminders.

With the ocean the source of both life and death, I am not surprised that the Portuguese artists have remembered womens’ lives associated with the ocean. There are sculptures showing the women holding the fish and watching for the men to return from the ocean.

There ae wonderful blue tiles of women helping to land a fishing boat, sorting the fish, and selling the fish in a market.

There is also the striking sculpture of a woman gazing out toward sea. Waiting for a husband? A son? An uncle or nephew? An evocative tile of women terrified over a storm hitting the fishing fleet.

There are large murals of women sorting and drying the fish. It appears as though the murals are on the side of a former fishing factory.

Besides the sea, there are tiles of women doing more domestic activities such as carrying baskets. I love the roll-up metal shop door which pictures an older woman.

Convention has taught us to expect the great figures of history to be memorialized. The physical remembrances of Prince Henry the Navigator, Vasco de Gama, and other men are prominent. In Portugal, I and others can remember the ordinary women who played an indispensable role in work and family.