Durante la escala, la tripulación nos pidió que no nos alejáramos mucho de la puerta.

Because la tripulación is a collective singular noun in Spanish, just like the crew in English. Even though it refers to multiple people, grammatically it is treated as singular.

• La tripulación nos pidió... = The crew asked us...
• Not La tripulación nos pidieron...

This is very common with collective nouns in Spanish.

Durante means during, and la escala here means a stopover or layover during a journey.

So durante la escala means:

• during the layover
• during the stopover

In travel Spanish, escala is often used for a stop between departure and final destination, especially in air travel.

Because pedir often includes the person something is asked of.

• nos pidió = asked us
• me pidió = asked me
• les pidió = asked them / you all

So in this sentence:

• la tripulación nos pidió... = the crew asked us...

Without nos, you would lose the idea of who was being asked.

They do two different jobs.

1. nos pidió

   • nos is the indirect object pronoun
   • it means asked us

2. no nos alejáramos

   • nos is part of the pronominal verb alejarse
   • alejarse means to move away / go away
   • so nos alejáramos means we move away

So the two nos are not redundant:

• la tripulación nos pidió = the crew asked us
• que no nos alejáramos = that we not move away

Because after verbs of asking, ordering, wanting, or requesting, Spanish normally uses:

• que + subjunctive

Here, pedir que means to ask that...

So:

• nos pidió que no nos alejáramos...
• literally: they asked us not to move away...

This is a very standard pattern:

• Me pidió que fuera. = He/she asked me to go.
• Nos pidió que esperáramos. = He/she asked us to wait.

Because with a conjugated pronominal verb, the reflexive pronoun goes before the verb.

The base verb is alejarse.

In a clause like this, it becomes:

• no nos alejáramos

not:

• no alejáramosnos

Spanish only attaches the pronoun to the end in certain structures, such as:

• infinitives: alejarnos
• gerunds: alejándonos
• affirmative commands: alejaos / aléjense

But with a normal conjugated verb, the pronoun goes before it.

Because the main verb is in the preterite:

• pidió = asked

After a past reporting verb like pidió, Spanish usually uses the imperfect subjunctive in the subordinate clause:

• pidió que no nos alejáramos

This is part of sequence of tenses:

• present main verb: pide que no nos alejemos
• past main verb: pidió que no nos alejáramos

So alejáramos matches the past context.

Alejarse de means to move away from or to go far from something.

Examples:

• Alejarse de la puerta = to move away from the gate/door
• Alejarse del grupo = to move away from the group
• No te alejes de aquí = Don’t go far from here

It is a very common structure:

• alejarse de + place/person/thing

Yes. In travel contexts, especially airports, puerta often means gate, not just a physical door.

So:

• la puerta can mean the gate
• especially if the context is boarding, waiting areas, or flights

That is why the sentence naturally suggests the gate rather than just a door.

Here mucho means much / very far in the sense of distance.

• no nos alejáramos mucho = that we not go too far / not move too far away

You cannot use muy here because muy modifies adjectives and adverbs, while mucho works with quantity or degree in this kind of expression.

Compare:

• muy lejos = very far
• mucho with verbs can mean a lot / much
• alejarse mucho = to move far away

So mucho is the natural choice with alejarse.

Yes. Demasiado would also work.

Compare:

• no nos alejáramos mucho = not go far
• no nos alejáramos demasiado = not go too far

Demasiado can sound a little more explicitly like too much/too far, while mucho is slightly more neutral and idiomatic in many everyday contexts.

Because Durante la escala is an introductory time expression.

Spanish often uses a comma after an introductory phrase like this, especially when it sets the scene for the rest of the sentence.

• Durante la escala, la tripulación...
• Al llegar, nos sentamos.
• Después de comer, salimos.

The comma is natural and helps readability, though in some short phrases punctuation can vary.

Yes, but it would express the idea a little differently.

• que no nos alejáramos mucho de la puerta = that we not move too far away from the gate
• que nos mantuviéramos cerca de la puerta = that we stay near the gate

These are very close in meaning, but the first focuses on not going far away, while the second focuses on remaining close.

Spanish often chooses one or the other depending on style and emphasis.

Yes, for this context.

• pidió que no nos alejáramos... = asked us not to move away...
• dijo que no nos alejáramos... = said that we shouldn’t move away...

Both are possible, but pidió sounds more natural if the crew made a request or instruction directed at the passengers. Dijo sounds more like reporting what was said, rather than highlighting the request itself.

Very much so. The pattern is extremely common:

• [person] + pedir + que + imperfect subjunctive

Examples:

• El profesor nos pidió que estudiáramos más.

  • The teacher asked us to study more.

• Mi madre me pidió que la llamara.

  • My mother asked me to call her.

• Nos pidieron que esperáramos aquí.

  • They asked us to wait here.

So this sentence is a great model for building similar ones.