Antes del embarque, esperamos en la terminal con una botella de agua y un bocadillo.

Because de + el contracts to del in Spanish.

So:

• de el embarque → del embarque

This is a standard contraction and you should use it whenever de is followed by the masculine singular article el.

A similar contraction is:

• a + el → al

So Antes del embarque means Before the boarding or more naturally Before boarding.

Embarque means boarding, especially in travel contexts such as airports, ferries, or trains.

In this sentence, Antes del embarque means Before boarding.

Related words:

• embarcar = to board
• puerta de embarque = boarding gate
• tarjeta de embarque = boarding pass

So embarque is a noun, while embarcar is the verb.

Yes. Both are natural, but they are structured differently:

• Antes del embarque = Before boarding / Before the boarding
• Antes de embarcar = Before boarding / Before we boarded

The first uses a noun (embarque).
The second uses an infinitive (embarcar).

Spanish often allows both patterns:

• antes del viaje = before the trip
• antes de viajar = before travelling

So antes del embarque sounds slightly more noun-based and formal, while antes de embarcar is very common and direct.

By itself, esperamos is ambiguous. It can mean:

• we wait
• we are waiting
• we waited
• sometimes even we hope

You need context to know which meaning is intended.

Here are the possibilities:

• Present: esperamos en la terminal = we wait / we are waiting in the terminal
• Preterite: esperamos en la terminal = we waited in the terminal

And with a different structure:

• esperamos que... = we hope that...

In this sentence, because it describes a travel situation, it often sounds like a narrative sentence, so many learners will understand it as we waited in the terminal. But grammatically, the form itself could also be present.

Because of what comes after it.

• Esperar meaning to hope usually introduces a clause, often with que:

  • Esperamos que llegue a tiempo = We hope he arrives on time

• Esperar meaning to wait often appears with place expressions or for-person/for-thing expressions:

  • Esperamos en la terminal = We waited / were waiting in the terminal
  • Esperamos el autobús = We waited for the bus

In your sentence, en la terminal strongly points to the meaning wait.

Spanish often uses the simple tense where English might use a continuous form.

So:

• esperamos en la terminal can be translated as we waited in the terminal
• estábamos esperando en la terminal means we were waiting in the terminal

The difference is mainly about aspect:

• esperamos presents the action more simply, as a complete event
• estábamos esperando emphasizes the ongoing nature of the action

If the sentence is just giving a straightforward fact in a sequence of events, esperamos is very normal.

Because en expresses location, while a usually expresses movement toward a destination.

• en la terminal = in / at the terminal
• a la terminal = to the terminal

Compare:

• Esperamos en la terminal = We waited in the terminal
• Fuimos a la terminal = We went to the terminal

Since the sentence tells you where they were waiting, en is the correct preposition.

Yes, in this travel meaning it is normally feminine:

• la terminal

So you say:

• en la terminal
• la terminal del aeropuerto

Many nouns ending in -al are masculine, but terminal in this sense is commonly feminine, so it is best to learn it as la terminal.

In Spain, a bocadillo is a sandwich made with a long piece of bread, usually similar to a baguette or bread roll.

This is different from:

• sándwich, which usually means a sliced-bread sandwich
• bocadillo, which is more specifically a crusty bread sandwich

So in Spain, un bocadillo is a very normal travel or snack food.

Also, be careful if you know some Latin American Spanish: in some countries bocadillo can mean something different.

Una botella de agua means a bottle of water.

The structure is:

• botella = bottle
• de agua = of water

Spanish often uses de + noun without an article to express what something contains or is made of:

• una taza de café = a cup of coffee
• un vaso de leche = a glass of milk
• una botella de agua = a bottle of water

So you do not normally say una botella del agua here, because that would mean something more like a bottle of the water, referring to specific water already identified.

Yes, agua is feminine.

But feminine singular nouns that begin with a stressed a sound often use el instead of la in the singular for pronunciation reasons:

• el agua fría
• el águila
• el aula

Even though they are still feminine:

• el agua fría — notice fría is feminine
• las aguas — in the plural it goes back to las

In your sentence, though, there is no article at all after de, so it is simply:

• de agua

Con means with.

Here it tells you what the people had with them while they were waiting:

• con una botella de agua y un bocadillo = with a bottle of water and a sandwich

So it gives accompanying items.

Compare:

• Esperamos en la terminal = We waited in the terminal
• Esperamos en la terminal con una botella de agua y un bocadillo = We waited in the terminal with a bottle of water and a sandwich

The comma is optional but very natural.

Antes del embarque is an introductory time phrase. In English and Spanish, these introductory elements are often separated by a comma for clarity.

So both are possible:

• Antes del embarque, esperamos en la terminal...
• Antes del embarque esperamos en la terminal...

With the comma, the sentence feels a little clearer and more neatly divided. Without it, it is still correct.

Because y only changes to e before words that begin with an i or hi sound.

Examples:

• padre e hijo
• España e Italia

But here the next word is un, which begins with a u sound, so you keep y:

• una botella de agua y un bocadillo

Because the sentence is talking about one bottle and one sandwich.

Spanish uses the singular exactly the way English does here:

• una botella = one bottle
• un bocadillo = one sandwich

If there were more, you would change them to plural:

• con dos botellas de agua y tres bocadillos

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• la terminal = the terminal building in general
• la sala de embarque = the boarding area / departure lounge

So:

• Esperamos en la terminal suggests they were somewhere in the terminal
• Esperamos en la sala de embarque is more specific: they were in the boarding area

Both are correct depending on the situation.