Llegamos tarde; total, que esperamos en el control de embarque.

Because Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

Llegamos already tells you we arrive / we arrived, so nosotros is usually unnecessary unless you want extra emphasis or contrast.

• Llegamos tarde = We arrived late
• Nosotros llegamos tarde = We arrived late (with extra emphasis on we)

This is very normal in Spanish.

By itself, llegamos can mean either:

• we arrive (present)
• we arrived (preterite/past)

In this sentence, the context makes it past narrative, so it is understood as we arrived.

This kind of ambiguity is common with -ar verbs in the nosotros form:

• hablamos = we speak or we spoke
• llegamos = we arrive or we arrived
• esperamos = we wait or we waited

You usually rely on context to know which one is meant.

Here tarde is an adverbial expression meaning late.

• Llegamos tarde = We arrived late

It does not change for number or gender in this use.

Compare:

• Es tarde = It’s late
• Llegaron tarde = They arrived late

You could sometimes hear adjectives like atrasados, but with llegar, the most natural expression is simply llegar tarde.

Total, que is a very common colloquial Spanish connector, especially in spoken language. It helps move the story along and means something like:

• so
• anyway
• the upshot is
• in the end

In this sentence, it introduces the result or next step in the story.

So:

• Llegamos tarde; total, que esperamos...

has the feeling of:

• We arrived late, so / anyway / the upshot was that we waited...

It is more conversational than a plain logical connector like así que.

No. In this sentence, total is not being used in its literal adjective sense.

Normally, as an adjective:

• el precio total = the total price

But in total, que, it works as a discourse marker: a fixed conversational expression used to summarize or continue a story.

So here it is closer to anyway, so, or all in all, not total in the mathematical sense.

In this kind of colloquial storytelling, total, que is a very common set phrase. The que helps introduce what happened next.

You may also hear just total on its own in conversation, but total, que is especially natural when narrating events:

• Total, que perdimos el tren.
• Total, que tuvimos que esperar.

So in this sentence, que is part of the idiomatic expression.

The semicolon shows a strong pause between two related parts of the sentence:

• Llegamos tarde
• total, que esperamos en el control de embarque

In informal writing, many native speakers might also use a comma, dash, or even a full stop instead. The punctuation here is more about rhythm and clarity than strict grammar.

Possible alternatives in real life:

• Llegamos tarde, total, que esperamos...
• Llegamos tarde. Total, que esperamos...

So the semicolon is possible, but the key point is that total, que introduces the next part of the story.

Yes. Just like llegamos, esperamos can mean:

• we wait (present)
• we waited (preterite)

Here, because the sentence is telling a past event, it means we waited.

This is another common feature of -ar verbs in the nosotros form. Context tells you the tense.

Because en marks location: they were waiting in / at that place.

• esperar en = to wait in/at
• ir al control de embarque = to go to the boarding control/gate area

So:

• Esperamos en el control de embarque = We waited at the boarding control / gate area

If you used al, it would suggest movement toward the place, not waiting there.

In Spain, embarque is boarding, especially for flights or other transport.

Control de embarque can refer to the place where boarding documents are checked, or more generally the boarding control/gate area, depending on context and how the speaker is using it.

A learner should be careful not to translate control too literally every time. In Spanish, control often means a checkpoint, inspection point, or screening/check area.

So control de embarque is not just a random control; it is the place connected with boarding procedures.

Yes, especially because of total, que, which sounds very conversational and natural in storytelling.

The sentence has a spoken, narrative feel rather than a formal written style. A more neutral or formal version might use connectors like:

• así que
• por eso
• de modo que

For example:

• Llegamos tarde, así que esperamos en el control de embarque.

But total, que sounds very everyday and very natural in Spain.

Yes, in many contexts you could, but the tone changes a little.

• así que = more straightforwardly so
• total, que = more conversational, narrative, and slightly looser in logic

Compare:

• Llegamos tarde, así que esperamos...
  This sounds like a clear cause-result statement.

• Llegamos tarde; total, que esperamos...
  This sounds more like someone telling a story: we arrived late, and anyway / so in the end, we waited...

So the basic meaning may be similar, but total, que is more colloquial.

In Spanish, esperar can be used both transitively and intransitively depending on what you mean.

If you are waiting for someone/something, you can say:

• Esperamos el avión. = We waited for the plane.
• Esperamos a Marta. = We waited for Marta.

But if you are simply saying where you waited, no direct object is needed:

• Esperamos en el control de embarque. = We waited at the boarding control/gate area.

So the sentence focuses on the place where they waited, not on what they were waiting for.