Como la escala era en una ciudad pequeña, la tripulación nos dejó bajar unos minutos.

Because this como is not the question word how. Here it is a conjunction meaning since or as.

• como = since / as
• cómo = how

So Como la escala era... means Since the stopover was..., not How the stopover was...

At the beginning of a sentence, como often introduces the reason first. It is very natural in Spanish when the speaker wants to set up the cause before the main action.

So:

• Como la escala era en una ciudad pequeña, ... = Since the stopover was in a small city, ...

If you use porque, the most natural version is usually:

• La tripulación nos dejó bajar unos minutos porque la escala era en una ciudad pequeña.

Both can express the reason, but como is especially common when the reason comes first.

No. In travel Spanish, escala means a stopover, layover, or scheduled stop during a journey.

So here la escala refers to a stop in the trip, probably by plane or ship depending on context.

This is a common false friend for English speakers because escala can also mean scale in other contexts, but not here.

Era is the imperfect tense of ser, and it is used here to give background information.

The sentence is setting the scene:

• la escala era en una ciudad pequeña = background circumstance

Then the main event happens:

• la tripulación nos dejó bajar unos minutos = the action that moved the story forward

Spanish often uses:

• imperfect for description, background, or ongoing circumstances
• preterite for completed main actions

So era sounds natural because it describes what the stopover was like.

Because en is the normal preposition for location here: the stopover was in a small city.

• en una ciudad pequeña = in a small city

It tells you where the stop took place.

In Spanish, descriptive adjectives usually come after the noun.

So the neutral, standard order is:

• una ciudad pequeña = a small city

If you say una pequeña ciudad, that is also possible, but it can sound a bit more subjective, literary, or expressive. In many cases it may suggest something like a little town rather than simply stating size.

Here ciudad pequeña is the straightforward choice.

Because tripulación is a collective noun. It refers to a group, but grammatically it is singular.

So Spanish says:

• la tripulación dejó
  not
• la tripulación dejaron

This is similar to English the crew, which can also be treated as a single unit.

This is the pattern dejar + infinitive, which means to let / allow someone to do something.

Structure:

• dejar
  • person + infinitive

So:

• la tripulación nos dejó bajar
• literally: the crew let us get down/off
• naturally: the crew let us get off / allowed us to get off

This is a very common Spanish structure:

• Me dejaron entrar = They let me come in
• No nos dejaron hablar = They didn’t let us speak

Nos means us. It shows who was allowed to do the action.

In this sentence:

• la tripulación = the crew
• nos = us
• dejó bajar = let get off / allowed to get off

So nos is the object referring to the people who got permission.

Compare:

• me dejó bajar = let me get off
• te dejó bajar = let you get off
• nos dejó bajar = let us get off

Yes, that is possible.

• La tripulación nos dejó bajar
• La tripulación dejó que bajáramos

Both mean roughly the same thing.

The first one, with dejar + infinitive, is usually more direct and common in everyday Spanish.

The second one, with dejó que + subjunctive, is also correct but a bit heavier in structure.

Literally, bajar means to go down or to descend. But in travel contexts it often means to get off or to disembark.

So here it probably means something like:

• get off the plane
• go out during the stop
• disembark briefly

Spanish often uses bajar this way with transport:

• bajar del autobús = get off the bus
• bajar del tren = get off the train

So do not translate it too literally here.

In Spanish, expressions of duration often do not need a preposition.

So:

• unos minutos = for a few minutes
• dos horas = for two hours
• toda la tarde = all afternoon

That is why nos dejó bajar unos minutos naturally means the crew let us get off for a few minutes.

Also, unos here means some / a few, not a precise number. It gives an approximate amount of time.