Vimos el puerto de escala; total, que empezó el desembarque.

Because vimos is the preterite, which presents the action as a completed event: we saw.

In a narrative, Spanish often uses:

• preterite for completed actions that move the story forward
• imperfect for background, description, or ongoing situations

So Vimos el puerto de escala sounds like one finished event in the sequence.

If you said veíamos, it would suggest something more like:

• we were seeing
• we could see
• we used to see

That would change the feel of the sentence.

The subject is an understood nosotros: we.

Spanish often leaves subject pronouns out because the verb ending already shows the person:

• vi = I saw
• viste = you saw
• vio = he/she saw
• vimos = we saw

So Vimos already tells you the subject is we.

Puerto de escala means port of call: a port where a ship stops as part of its route.

The structure is:

• puerto = port
• de escala = of stopover / of call

Here escala means a stop on a journey, especially in transport or travel contexts.

So it is not just any port; it is a scheduled stopping point.

Spanish often uses noun + de + noun where English might use a compound noun.

So:

• puerto de escala = port of call
• literally something like port of stopover

This is a very common pattern in Spanish:

• casa de campo
• tarjeta de crédito
• sala de espera

English often packs nouns together more tightly than Spanish does.

Here total is not the adjective total. It is a discourse marker, very common in colloquial Spanish, especially in Spain.

In this kind of sentence, total can mean something like:

• so
• anyway
• all in all
• the upshot was
• long story short

It helps the speaker move the story along or give the result of what came before.

So total here is about narration and attitude, not mathematics or completeness.

Total, que... is a very common colloquial storytelling expression.

It introduces what happened next or what the conclusion was. In English, depending on tone, it can feel like:

• so...
• anyway, the thing is...
• bottom line, ...
• so then...

The que does not translate neatly word-for-word here. It is part of the connector.

Compare:

• Total, que empezó el desembarque.
• So then the disembarkation began.

This is more natural in informal narration than in formal writing.

It is especially common and recognizable in Spain, yes.

Speakers in other Spanish-speaking regions may also understand it, but it is strongly associated with colloquial Peninsular Spanish storytelling.

So if you are learning Spanish from Spain, it is a useful expression to recognize. Just remember that it sounds informal and conversational.

The semicolon marks a pause stronger than a comma but weaker than a full stop.

Here it separates two closely related parts:

• Vimos el puerto de escala
• total, que empezó el desembarque

It helps show that the second part is a consequence or next step in the narration.

In less careful writing, you might also see:

• Vimos el puerto de escala, total, que empezó el desembarque.
• Vimos el puerto de escala. Total, que empezó el desembarque.

The semicolon is just a stylistic punctuation choice.

Because the grammatical subject is el desembarque, which is singular.

So:

• empezó = singular
• el desembarque = singular noun

Even if many people are getting off the ship, the sentence is talking about the event itself, the disembarkation, as one singular process.

If the subject were plural, then you would use empezaron:

• Empezaron los pasajeros. = The passengers started...

Desembarque is a noun meaning disembarkation: the process of passengers, troops, goods, etc. getting off a ship, plane, or other vehicle.

It comes from the verb desembarcar = to disembark / get off / unload from a ship or vehicle.

So:

• empezó el desembarque = the disembarkation began

In more everyday English, you might often translate it less literally as:

• people started getting off
• they started disembarking

Yes. That would be a more verbal way to express the same basic idea.

Compare:

• Empezó el desembarque = the disembarkation began
• Empezaron a desembarcar = they started to disembark / people started getting off

The version with desembarque sounds a bit more impersonal and event-focused. The version with empezaron a desembarcar focuses more directly on the people doing the action.

Spanish often uses the definite article with abstract nouns, event nouns, and processes where English might or might not use one.

So el desembarque refers to the specific disembarkation being talked about.

This is very normal in Spanish:

• empezó el partido
• terminó la reunión
• comenzó el viaje

English also often uses an article in these cases, but Spanish is generally more comfortable with articles before nouns of this type.

It is mixed in register:

• Vimos el puerto de escala is neutral
• empezó el desembarque is also neutral
• total, que is informal and conversational

So the whole sentence feels like spoken narration or informal written storytelling, especially in Spain.

If you wanted a more formal version, you would probably avoid total, que and use something more neutral such as:

• entonces
• así que
• por lo que

Yes, especially because of total, que, which sounds very natural in colloquial Peninsular Spanish.

The most marked part is that connector. It gives the sentence a spoken, storytelling feel, as if the speaker is summarizing events and moving to the next step.

So a learner should mainly notice:

• preterite narration
• a travel/shipping expression in puerto de escala
• a colloquial connector in total, que
• an event noun in el desembarque